Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!
by AngelaD.Pangie
Summary: Renesmee Cullen has been sheltered her entire life. But now she's finally getting the chance to go to highschool! However, things aren't as easy in the real world as they were in the Cullen house, and soon Nessie finds herself in trouble.
1. It Began With a Word

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life. Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter One**

It Began With a Word

Nessie sat next to Jacob in the small cabin, while the snow fell strongly outside. It had just passed Christmas, where the snow was still strong. There was a table between them and their foes –Nessie's parents. Bella and Edward battled them in the fight which had become the central part of their post-Christmas celebrations.

Scrabble.

Ever since Nessie had discovered words, she and Edward had battled with words, Bella stepping in to cloak her and Jacob's mind from Edward's powers in order to make the game fairer. She and Jacob more or less were dragged into it.

"You know," began Jacob. "It doesn't matter how many times we ask for a rematch. We're always going to lose."

"Oh, I'm sorry Jacob," joked Bella, her golden eyes sparkling with more than just its natural colour. "Are we hurting your feelings?"

"Deeply," replied Jacob. "When you say you're going to cloak our thoughts, you should really say that you'll stop if you think Edward's losing. It's kind of like false advertising otherwise. The fact that you," he said, turning to Edward. "Are about a century old does not help. You are a walking thesaurus. You should be banned from Scrabble because you make words nobody else can work with."

"I don't make them at all," Edward said, looking at him with raised eyebrows. "If you look through enough dictionaries, you'll find every single word I use."

"Your turn, Renesmee," Nessie's mother pointed out. Jacob rolled his eyes and Edward smiled a little ruefully. Bella had been campaigning for the use of Nessie's full name for as long as Nessie could remember. She'd had no success.

Nessie saw the opportunity and took it. Bella was cloaking her thoughts at the time, as she did to give Nessie and Edward the challenge they both enjoyed, and so Edward didn't see what Nessie was doing until she drew back from the board, folded her arms and looked at them expectantly. Bella and Edward looked out the board, stilling. Jacob sighed. S C H O O L was the word she spelled out.

"You know why we can't send you," Edward said to her gently.

"Yes, but it's not like that anymore!" Nessie exclaimed. She had been wishing to go to school ever since her mother and father had described how they met there. That meant that for about half her life she'd wanted to go. "You're always saying how people would notice me growing, but I look like an average teenager now! I'll fit in just fine!"

Jacob's eyes seared her. "Not exactly like an average teenager," he muttered. Seconds later, a chunk which had previously been in the table smacked Jacob on the side of the head. He winced and looked at Edward, who didn't look as if he had moved, apart from his now-stormy expression. "Ow!"

"PG rated thoughts, please," Edward almost growled. His wife understood what he meant immediately and hised a little.

"I didn't think it deliberately," Jacob muttered, blushing a little. Nessie hid a grin. Her relationship with Jacob hadn't progressed to _that _level yet, mostly on the ground that Edward and Bella regularly threatened to rip Jacob apart if he even thought about trying to. And then that started the rest of the family on it. The only ones who hadn't threatened him at some point or another were Nessie's proud grandparents. Carlisle was far too professional and gentle for that, and Esme far too caring. Of course, it didn't help Jacob's situation that Edward was normally present to clip any thoughts that developed too far for his liking. Normally with a well-placed rock or chunk of furniture.

"Urgh," Bella squirmed, clearing her throat a little. Edward was also grimacing. It took Jacob a moment to realise that he was bleeding down the side of his head. He grinned, knowing that the vampires found his blood to be foul-smelling. Nessie was looking at the blood, thinking about something. Edward looked a little sick. Bella had stopped cloaking her thoughts.

"Nessie, no," he said weakly. Too late.

Nessie's finger shot out, touched Jacob's temple, where the blood was running down the side of his face, and the next thing they knew it was in her mouth. Edward and Nessie's faces changed in an instant. Edward winced and Nessie disappeared, the door banging open. They could hear her eating snow, trying to get the ghastly taste out of her mouth.

"I'll go," Edward said as they all rose, ready to help. "I did warn you," he began to remonstrate as he walked outside. Bella shook her head.

"I don't know how she could do that," Jacob's friend admitted. "I mean, we don't even know where you've _been_."

"Funny," Jacob grunted. "So what do you think?"

"About?" prodded Bella.

"School. I don't see any reason why she can't go."

Bella's face changed in an instant. She became mother-Bella, not friend-Bella. "She's not ready."

"She can survive off human food. She's not too tempted for human blood. We've taken her around all sorts of places, so she knows how to act human. Come on, Bella, what is it you're worrying about?"

"It's just..." Bella bit her stone lips, worry creasing her marble forehead. "She's not ready."

"I think it's less that _she's _not ready and more that _you're _not ready," Jacob told her. "Everyone's been babying her since she was born. Now she wants to get out in the world. You need to let her go some time."

"_Thank_ you, Jacob!" came the grateful reply from outside. A moment later and Edward and Nessie were back in the same spots they had been before Nessie tried Jacob's blood.

"I think we should give it just a little more time," softly stated Bella, grasping Edward's hand for support.

"I agree," he instantly said.

"Of course you do," muttered Nessie, fiddling with some of the Scrabble pieces that had been dislodged. "You two always agree. But...right now...I just want to see what it's like to really be human. Just for a little while. Without anyone trying to look out for me. And I know that pretty much everyone in our family is going to disagree with this, but I just need some time by myself. _Please_." Nessie's voice had gradually decreased in volume until the last word was a whisper. The plea, and the word Nessie had absent-mindedly spelled out on the Scrabble board, broke the other two's hearts.

"Maybe...Maybe we could try it," Bella eventually whispered.

"I suppose it would only be fair," conceded Edward, looking at the little word on the Scrabble board. F R E E D O M.

"Great!" Jacob announced, ruining the quiet by clapping his hands together. "It's settled. But I think I should go with you."

Edward raised an eyebrow. "Is that so, dog?"

"Think about it. I blend in easiest. No-one's going to mess with her if they know I'm there."

"I wouldn't mind Jacob coming," Nessie said cheerfully. "But...to all my classes? I don't suppose you could be my...boyfriend who's in college, but lives with me? I want to try some classes by myself." Jacob smiled. He liked that idea.

"I don't," said Edward stiffly, glaring as if trying to bore a hole through Jacob's skull.

"How do I say this...My intentions are only honourable," Jacob attempted to mimic Edward's old-fashioned way of speaking. "How'd I do?" he asked Bella, looking pleased with himself.

She was looking slightly horrified. "Terrible. Absolutely terrible. Please, never try that again."

"So Jacob can come with me?" Nessie asked, delighted with the turn of events which would allow her not only to go to school but to be with her Jacob as well.

Edward sighed. Nessie's delight was too much for him to ruin. "Yes, I suppose he can."

Bella and Edward shared an uncertain glance. Nessie and Jacob glanced at each other too, but theirs carried a different quality..

Renesmee was going to high school.

**Author's Note:**

**Hello, readers. I've just started re-editing and posting up this fanfic, and hopefully you'll like the new, polished version! Reviews are always welcome, and if you'd like to know more about me or the titles I'm working on, you can either find me on Twitter by searching for AngelaDonlan or you can check on my profile page. Thanks for reading!**

**-Angela**


	2. Alice's Suitcases

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life. Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Two**

Alice's Suitcases

Alice had finally cracked. That was the only explanation.

"So, you either have clothes for sunny weather or clothes for cloudy weather," Alice said to Renesmee, holding up two already-packed suitcases. "We can decide which school after you've chosen the suitcase."

"Wh-what?" stuttered Nessie, looking a little taken back. She, her parents and Jacob had made the trip back to Alaska to see the rest of their family. In fact, they had only just walked through the door.

"Alice, we are _not _deciding where she's going that way," Edward sighed, shaking his head a little. Bella looked at him, confused, then realised what he meant.

Incredulously she turned to Alice and asked, "you're saying we should choose where Renesmee-" she ignored the various looks of exasperation at her use of Nessie's full name. "-goes to school by seeing which school suits the clothes you've packed for her?"

Alice lowered the suitcases and smiled sweetly. "Have you got a better idea?"

"Any other idea than the one you just proposed," Jacob told her. She stopped smiling.

"I did tell you they would react like this," chided Emmet playfully. Alice growled at him. He held his hands up innocently. "Don't look at me that way. I'm just saying."

"Alice, you know they have got a point," Rosalie injected dryly. "Even for you this is..."

"Jumping the gun?" suggested Jacob.

"Yes, jumping the gun. Although I didn't need your input," she gave him a glare of fake irritation. She and Jacob weren't really in a constant state of war, as they had been at the time of Nessie's birth. Their arguments were snarky but lacked real enmity.

"Alice is just trying to do what's best," began Esme gently.

"Even if she does it a little...over-enthusiastically," completed Carlisle.

"Perhaps," Edward began tactfully. "We should see what Nessie thinks instead of arguing about her." Everyone looked at Nessie. She was looking at them all with an expression of horror that was all but comical.

"I haven't even told you yet," she squeaked. _And we only just walked through the door!_ her thoughts continued. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Edward grimacing ruefully in agreement.

"Yes, but Alice..." began Jasper, then noticed Edward shaking his head at him very slightly. "Right. Go on, Nessie. Was there something you wanted to say?"

"Well, I've decided to go to school," Nessie announced. Jacob, who hadn't been able to keep up properly, frowned as he opened his mouth to say how everyone already knew that. She turned and gave him a very Rosalie-like glare. He shut his mouth.

"Oh," said Jasper politely. "That's very..."

"Good," supplied Carlisle smoothly.

"It's great," Esme fought down a smile, trying to look serious.

Nessie was annoyed that her big announcement had already been revealed. She knew that Alice would see her decision but she had hoped that she wouldn't tell everyone. Now her surprise was ruined. Jacob was looking at her strangely, thinking how she seemed to have adopted not only Rosalie's glare, but her pout was exactly like Alice's when the tiny vampire didn't get what she wanted. She had picked up bits and pieces from her vampire family. _Their _family, really, since Esme and Carlisle were always saying he was a part of the family now. He was never comfortable with thinking of them as his family, though. Despite her similarities with people that he'd once despised, he still loved her. Loved her more than anything, in fact.

He noticed Edward looking at him blankly. He remembered that the vampire read minds and blushed. Edward's talent had lost the wow-factor long ago and now Jacob regularly forgot it, much to his detriment.

Emmet noticed Jacob's blush and Edward's stare. "What's he thinking now?" he asked simply, aggressively.

Rosalie snarled at Jacob. "If he's thinking what I think he's thinking..."

"No, nothing like that," Edward intercepted.

"Can we get off the subject of Jacob?" asked Nessie, irritated. Realising how her words sounded she looked at Jacob apologetically. "No offence, Jake."

"It's okay," he assured, gratefully to be out of the spotlight.

"So, where are Jacob and I going to school?" she asked brightly.

"_He's_ going?" snapped Rosalie, making it completely clear exactly what she thought of that idea.

"He's the most human out of all of us," Edward reasoned. "And I trust him to guide Nessie." Jacob was surprised. Edward's trust had taken a lot to earn, but it still surprised him.

"But..." Rosalie looked straight at Edward, not needing to finish her sentence as she thought it. Edward, seeing what she was worried about, shook his head.

"We don't need to worry. Jacob knows what will happen if he tried that," he said with that same blank expression.

"How about Forks?" asked Bella simply, bringing them back to the topic. "I liked that school-" everyone ignored her almost subconsciously taking Edward's hand, not needing to give a reason why she liked that school. "-and it seems to be the family school."

"Too soon," Carlisle shook his head. "Some people may recognise her and Jacob."

"No they wouldn't," frowned Rosalie. "All the people who were in the high school at the same time as Bella and could have possibly seen Jacob would have graduated by now."

"Yes, but what about the teachers?" said Nessie's grandfather. Rosalie, seeing his point, nodded.

"Phoenix," Edward spoke up. "That's where Bella came from. In that regard, it's also a family school, and it's as good a place as any. The schools are bigger so teachers are going to find it harder to remember every student. Nessie's resemblance to her won't be noticeable. And no-one there would have seen Jacob."

"It is very sunny, though," worried Alice, frowning.

"I don't think anyone would think of Nessie's skin as supernatural. Supernaturally pretty, maybe, but not supernatural..." Jacob said.

"Um..." Nessie said while she thought of a way to say what she wanted to say and not be rude. "These are good ideas but I want something a little...different."

"How different?" asked Esme.

"She wants to go somewhere none of us has gone before," Edward said for her. Nessie looked at him in exasperation.

"Can I speak?" she asked, frowning again. Sometimes she got annoyed with Edward always feeling like he had to speak for her. "I want to go somewhere like Forks, because I don't want everyone staring at my skin when it randomly starts sort-of glowing every time the sun hits it," Nessie thought aloud. "So a rainy place seems the way to go."

"We've been to plenty of places like that," assured Carlisle. "But if Nessie doesn't want to go to one of _them_..."

"I think I know the perfect place," said Alice's voice. It was just her voice because she had momentarily disappeared. Suddenly she was back, and there was a map of the country spread out in front of her, on the table. She pointed to a certain part.

"I've never been there before," said Jasper at Alice's shoulder.

"Neither have I," added Carlisle.

"I visited there once, but I never actually went there. But I could tell it was a good place for our kind." Alice began recounting the story of how she had come across the small school, but Nessie wasn't listening. She was looking at the place on the map thoughtfully. The thoughtfulness turned to excitement.

"I want to go there," she announced.

Alice paused, her eyes seeing something nobody but her could see. A few seconds later she spoke. "In that case, you'll want the suitcase full of winter clothes."

"I managed to pull some strings and get you enrolled in time for the beginning of school, so there shouldn't be any trouble there," Carlisle worried. It was no less than the rest of them were doing, Nessie and Jacob excluded. It was a week later and the entire family had gathered into the front room of the house to bid Nessie goodbye.

"Thank you," she said to her grandfather. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"Remember to eat only human food while you're there," Esme reminded her. "Don't drink anyone's blood unless you go hunting in the forest. There is a forest there, isn't there?"

"Yes, there's a forest," reassured Nessie. "It's not like I'm just going to go up to a random person, smell their blood and bite them."

"Are you sure?" Esme looked at her intently, worry in her eyes.

"Grand-_ma_!" whined Nessie. "I can take care of myself!"

"If worst comes to worst you can always try my blood again," grinned Jacob. Everyone winced.

"You...Tried...His...Blood?" choked Rosalie in disgust.

"Don't remind me," Nessie wrinkled her nose.

"And you won't let anyone push you around?" Emmet butted in.

"No-" she began, but Jacob was there behind her and decided to include himself in the conversation.

"If they do, they'll have to deal with me," he promised the big vampire. Emmett grinned and knocked fists with Jacob.

"You are _not _fighting my battles for me!" warned Nessie.

"Fighting!" exclaimed Rosalie anxiously.

"I don't actually mean fighting!" she assured frantically.

"Make sure you don't. You'll hurt someone and then you may be expelled," Edward told her, smiling a little to show he was joking.

"Don't be afraid when you walk in," Jasper advised. "Be confidant."

"Yeah," Jacob joked. "Teenagers can smell your fear." Death glares assaulted him. He protested his innocence by raising his hands palm-out. "I'm kidding!"

"From what I can see you'll be fine," said Alice, although there was a stone furrow of worry between her brows. "I just hope I'm not missing anything."

"Remember, you can come back at any time," her father told her.

"I'll remember," Nessie assured him. But there was one person who hadn't said anything yet.

As if she was the mind reader, and not Edward, Bella finally spoke up. "Remember this too; we all love you. No matter what happens. If you really feel that you're ready to go into the human world, we'll all support you." Nessie felt like a huge load was lifted off her shoulders. Her mother hadn't voiced her support of her, and she worried that she was hurting her by doing something her mother didn't want her to do. She hated the idea of hurting her mother. Bella hugged her and the rest of her family followed suit. Those who would shake Jacob's hand did. When it came to Alice's hug she whispered, in Nessie's ear, "I repacked the winter clothes for you." Nessie rolled her eyes.

Holding one suitcase each, Nessie and Jacob began the walk to the airport. They had insisted on it instead of being drove, and the family had given them the time alone. Now the pair walked into the cold, Alaskan air, in the direction of the airport. The snow was as cold as the family of vampires they had left behind, but much more impersonal. Nessie felt their absence strongly and a part of her wanted to turn around and run back. She'd been sheltered all her life; they had always been there. When she and Jacob had gone off together, it was always for a day. When she and her parents went off together, it was for a week at most. And she always missed the others. But that was why she had to go now. It was time for her to learn to stand by herself without needing others.

Well, on her own with Jacob, which was practically the same thing. She glanced at Jacob. There was a spring in his step. It hit her then. They would be alone together for a long time. She had known it, but never realised it like she did now. She grinned. Finally she and Jacob could find exactly where they stood with the other. Nessie knew it was somewhere very important, but the exact details of their relationship were unclear.

"This is a convenience, you know," began Jacob cheerfully.

"Huh?"

He gestured to the suitcase he carried. "This. Having stuff. Normally I just have a pair of pants and that's it."

"Welcome to the world of luxuries like...toenail clippers, and this wonderful invention called soap," she teased, unable to stop grinning.

"'Soap'? What is this 'soap'?" he asked jokingly.

"So..." she began. "Are you enrolled too?"

"Naw," he said. Nessie, somewhat guiltily, felt a pang of relief. She wanted to do this by herself. "I'm enrolled in the local college."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "Really?"

"Yeah. Apparently Carlisle pulled a few strings for me, too," he said pleasantly.

"What course?"

"History."

Nessie looked at him. He was looking slightly embarrassed. "Really?"

"Yeah. I think he's dropping a hint that, since I'm apparently a part of the family, I should learn a bit about the place they came from, or something like that." He ran a hand through his hair a bit bashfully.

"Well, I think it's a great idea," Nessie smiled before putting an arm around Jacob's waist. "And there's no 'apparently' about it. You're definitely a part of the family."

"Yeah? It's a bit hard to tell, considering that whenever I even think something that annoys your dad he throws a chunk of furniture at me," mumbled Jacob as he put his free arm around Nessie's shoulder. They walked the rest of the way like that; connected, suitcases in spare hands, ready to face the future.

And it was only a plane trip away.


	3. The First Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life. Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Three**

The First Day

Nessie looked at her surroundings as Jacob drove her to the first day of her new school in peaceful silence. Everything was much the same as it was in Forks. Green. Grey. More green. More grey. But this place was a little rockier, being surrounded by forest-coated hills. The buildings were similar to those in forks, too. If she didn't look too closely, she could pretend that she was just going up the road to Charlie's. Charlie. She'd miss him too. But she'd get over it.

"So, you know what to do if you get, you know, _tempted_. For human blood," Jacob asked her, frowning. He'd been more affected by everyone's worries than Nessie had thought.

"Yes, _Mother_, I know what to do. Go chomp on some wildlife in the hills," Nessie told him exasperatedly. Jacob flashed her a slightly distracted grin.

"There's supposed to be a huge variety of animals around here, so that's good," reasoned Jacob, still distracted.

"If I get as thirsty -no, as 'tempted' as you seem to think I'll be, no doubt that will change."

"I don't think you'll-" then Jacob saw that she was joking. "Funny, Nessie. I'm laughing on the inside."

Nessie smiled at him. "I think you're more nervous about this than I am."

Jacob grinned at her and she was happy to see that it was a lot more natural this time. They chatted jokingly until the school came into sight.

"Well, there's your school," pointed out Jacob. Nessie looked at him.

"And I totally would have missed that had you not just pointed it out."

"Again, very funny. You're like a little comedian this morning," he said dryly as she got out of the car.

"Bye, Jacob," she smiled. "Don't miss me too much. Try to focus on learning instead."

"And that's going to be so easy," Jacob grumbled. Nessie laughed just as the bell went. "You'd better get going, little vampire school-girl, before you're late."

"Okay," she said cheerfully before running into the school as it began to rain. Jacob watched her go, hoping that all his fears would end up being uncalled for.

Nessie made her way to the first class of the day. She was a little late, but the nice lady at Administration said it would be alright. Nessie opened the door to human biology just as the teacher began the lesson. He looked at her, clearly unimpressed by her tardiness.

"Not a good start to the year, Miss..." He seemed to be waiting for something. Nessie glanced around as some people tittered at her confusion. "What's your last name?" he finally asked.

"Oh! Right, sorry," Nessie apologised as she blushed furiously, a trait inherited from her mother and unfortunately not suppressed by her vampire skin. "Cullen. My last name's Cullen."

"Not a good start, Miss Cullen. Take your seat." The teacher pointed to a seat in the front row, next to a remarkably pretty (for a human) black-haired girl. Nessie let her bronze ringlets swing forward to cover her embarrassment as she sat down. She smiled at the girl shyly, but the black-haired girl wasn't looking at her. Nessie looked to the teacher instead.

"As I was saying, human biology is a complex class. You _have to _concentrate. Talking to your friends will not get you anywhere," a curl of the lips showed the students exactly what the teacher thought of friends. "If you are unwilling to do that then you may as well leave here and now. Mr Carter, is something funny?" Everyone looked to a boy near the back, who was smirking at someone in the front row. For a second Nessie thought it may have been her, but then she realised the boy was smirking at the black-haired girl next to her.

"Just wondering how long until our resident chameleon changes colours again," said 'Mr Carter'. The girl with black hair gave him the finger and he laughed again, with an edge of nastiness.

"Jackson Carter, Allison Fury, detention. Not a good start to the year," snapped the teacher. Jackson snickered again, which was ignored by the teacher. Nessie looked at Allison to see if she noticed, but the girl was ignoring Jackson as well. She saw Nessie looking at her.

"What?" she asked, slightly aggressively.

"Huh?" Nessie started, not expecting the harsh tone.

"What-are-you-looking-at?" pronounced Allison slowly, as if Nessie were deaf or stupid.

"N-nothing," she stammered in reply. The girl went back to ignoring her. Nessie kept silent for the rest of the lesson, trying to focus on what the teacher was saying. It wasn't like she hadn't had an education. Her family had taught her how to read and write, how to do maths (which, despite Jacob complaining about it, she liked) and all the things they said you were taught in school. But she had always been taught by loving, kind, patient people. So far neither her teacher nor any of her peers had shown any of these qualities. The lesson eventually ended. Her next lesson, English, went much the same, with the teacher being an old woman who tried to ignore the bad behaviour in her class. After recess, which she spent in the library, was maths. She had been looking forward to it the most out of all of her classes. Jackson was sitting somewhere in the back, but Nessie had thankfully seen Allison heading to another class. The teacher came in, smiling so widely that Nessie had to join in.

"Hello, class. My name is Mrs Richards." Mrs Richards was a chubby African woman with a smile that showed every single one of her teeth at once. Nessie began to feel a little better. As the class progressed, her good feeling increased. It was obvious Mrs Richards was passionate about maths, and her enthusiasm distracted everyone too much for them to ignore her or make trouble. The class finished much too early for Nessie's liking. Just before she walked out, Mrs Richards stopped her. "I didn't see you here last year."

Nessie had turned around. "That's because I wasn't here last here. I just moved here."

"Oh. Well, in that case, welcome to our little high school. You'd better get to your next class before I make you late." Nessie had left feeling like she was walking on sunshine.

The rest of the day went by much the same as her first two classes, with her spending her lunch time in the library. After school ended she waited for Jacob outside the school, enjoying the rain as it dampened her hair. She heard the sound of laughter and turned around to see Allison walking towards her with three other girls. They were all equally beautiful, but Nessie had come to realise that the reason Allison and her friends were all so beautiful because they wore thick make-up (apparently waterproof), not because they were naturally good-looking.

"Hey," Allison called out genially. Nessie smiled and waved back, thinking that, maybe, Allison had just been in a bad mood before. Her enthusiastic greeting made the others laugh and this made Nessie smile even more. Maybe she'd found some friends? "I heard you spent recess and lunch in the library."

Thinking that maybe Allison was asking because she wanted to join her sometime, maybe as an apology for her previous behaviour, Nessie nodded, "Yeah. I'll probably be there tomorrow, if you want to join me."

Allison and her friends laughed. "I'll pass." She began walking away without a goodbye. Nessie thought that, maybe, she was waiting for her to say it, and called out, "bye, Allison!" The other girl didn't reply. Nessie decided it was probably because she didn't hear her. She'd been warned about how bad humans' hearing was.

"Nerd," said one of the other girls to Allison, not knowing about Nessie's enhanced hearing. They were all climbing into a car. Nessie frowned, wondering why Allison's friend would call Allison a nerd.

"I know. God, what a freak!" Allison sneered as she shut the car. "Did you see how freakin' happy she was to see me, like I'm her best friend of something?"

"Maybe she'd like, in love with you or something." The last Nessie heard from them as they drove off was loud laughter. She felt a little like a wilted flower as she waited for Jacob. She'd been so sure that at least _someone _would like her. The only one who'd shown any sort of friendliness towards her had been Mrs Richards, and that was her job. What had she done to make Allison and her friends hate her? The sound of a car horn startled her. Jacob's car was waiting in front of her. Not wanting him to worry, Nessie leapt up, trying to compose herself, and walked to the car.

"How's my little vampire school girl?" asked Jacob brightly.

Nessie felt her lips lifting of their own accord, felt herself brightening up. Only Jacob could do that. "I'm fine. How's my big, scary wolf?"

"You know, blowing down straw houses, stuff like that." They drove in silence for a little while. "So, are you sure you're okay?"

Nessie started. "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"Nessie," sighed Jacob. "You're not as bad a liar as Bella -because, believe me, that would be hard- but you're definitely not a good one. What's up?" She crumbled and told him everything. "You want me to have a little talk with this girl?" asked Jacob angrily after she was done.

"NO!" yelled Nessie.

Jacob ,who had jumped, swore a little as he got the car back under control. "And you couldn't have just said that without breaking my ear drums?"

"I have to figure this out for myself. You can't help," Nessie forbade him.

"Okay, okay, I'll let you deal with it. Just, remember, if you need help dealing with those bimbos, I'm right here."

"Bimbos?" laughed Nessie. "Yeah, that's perfect. Don't worry, Jacob. I'll find a way to deal with the bimbos all on my own."


	4. A Welcome Invitation

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life. Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Four**

A Welcome Invitation

It was her second day of school and Nessie still had no idea how to deal with the three girls she and Jacob had dubbed as the "Bimbos'. She walked into her first class which was, thankfully, maths with the cheerful Mrs Richards. Smiling slightly at the teacher she took her seat. After seeing that teachers didn't seem to like it when the students were late, Nessie had come a lot earlier as a precaution. As a result she was the first one in the class.

"So, how was your first day?" asked Mrs Richards, smiling brightly as they waited for the rest of the students to come.

"It was...okay."

"Just okay? Did you meet anyone you liked?"

"Um..." Nessie stalled, wondering if she should say that the only person that she had liked was Mrs Richards. Just then a group of students came into the class, pushing each other mischievously, laughing. Mrs Richards chided them gently and they apologised, still laughing. Students began to filter in the room in bigger numbers.

"Looks like we'll have to put this chat on hold," smiled Mrs Richards before taking her spot in the front of the class. They were quite a small class, especially when compared to the size of some of Nessie's other classes. Perhaps it was because they were the highest level class. Nessie kept her eyes down, doodling quietly on her paper, so when Mrs Richards said a name that was familiar, she was a little surprised. "Jackson Carter, I didn't see you in here yesterday." She looked up and saw the boy who had been sneering at Allison in her Human Biology class the day before.

"Maybe you didn't look closely enough," Jackson joked. He looked more approachable now that he was no longer sneering.

Nessie smiled a little as she looked back to her paper. But she had drawn her gaze away from Jackson too late. He looked at her and, seeing that she was alone, slid into the seat next to her.

"Phew. I hate getting up in the morning," he cheerfully announced before getting his stationary and books out of his bag.

"Um," Nessie replied, startled. She tried to greet him, but it came out sounding like a question. "Hello?"

"I'm Jackson Carter." He offered his hand for her to shake. She took it tentatively. He looked slightly surprised at the difference of temperature between her hand and his, but covered it up quickly. "You're new, right?"

"Yeah," she replied as he let go of her hand. He seemed to be waiting for something.

"And who are you?" he finally asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologised quickly, blushing. That was the second time she had done that! "My name is Renesmee Cullen, but I prefer Nessie."

"Well, hello Nessie," Jackson smiled boyishly. She smiled back. "You're in my Human Biology class, aren't you? You sat next to Allison."

"Yes, I did," she nodded, unaware of the frown that was transforming her face.

"Hey, don't let her get to you," he told her. "She's just-"

"A Bimbo?" offered Nessie. Jackson laughed.

"Alright, now that we're all here, today we'll be revising some well-known equations..." began Mrs Richards. Nessie didn't have another chance to talk to Jackson for the rest of the class. After a Physical Education lesson in which she proved her competence at soccer (she preferred baseball) she spent recess in the library again. Unfortunately it didn't have the peace that it had held the day before, due to the unwelcome presence of the Bimbos.

"Oh, what a surprise," muttered Allison to the other two Bimbos, not knowing that Nessie could hear her. "Freak's in the library again." After a few titters, she raised her voice to a volume that she thought Nessie would be able to hear, injecting false enthusiasm into her voice. "Hey, new girl! I would have _never _guessed you would be here!"

Nessie gritted her teeth as she turned around. "Hello, Allison."

"Aren't you _happy_ to see me? Because I'm just so _happy _to see you!" squealed Allison with a ridiculous level of enthusiasm. The other two continued to titter behind her.

"Of course," replied Nessie flatly.

"Do you like the library? I do!" she continued. The bell went for their next lesson. Nessie was ridiculously thankful to it and almost ran out of the library before remembering that her next lesson was Human Biology. After that she stopped being thankful. Allison walked next to her, taunting her with that sarcastic enthusiasm that was so obviously false, the other two Bimbos tailing them until it came to the Human Biology room, where they regretfully left Allison alone.

As they walked through the door to the classroom Allison exclaimed, "oh, look! We're in _Human Biology_. Don't you just _love _Human Biology?" Nessie was, by this time, on the verge of tears. Why did Allison hate her so much? What had she done? Something drew Nessie's gaze to the back row. There sat Jackson, looking at Allison with an undisguised loathing. He glanced to Nessie and it changed to confusion, then anger. Nessie had a brief moment where she was panic-stricken at what she could have done to make Jackson angry. What had she done to make the only student she liked hate her?

"Hey, Bimbo Queen!" he yelled across the classroom. "Can you do the whole world a favour and die in a hole?" There were appreciative noises from the students. Nessie smiled a little. It was probably a good thing the teacher wasn't there, or he would have scolded Jackson.

"Up yours, stoner," Allison said as she gave the boy the finger again.

"Can't you think of anything better to do than the finger? It's getting a little repetitive," he grinned. Allison swore at him just as the teacher walked in.

"Allison, I am going to pretend I didn't see that," he told her angrily. He seemed flustered. "Take your seats, both of you. Allison sat down, pointedly putting the bag on the seat next to her. Nessie paused, unsure of what to do. A movement caught her eye. Jackson was waving at her. When he saw that she was looking and beckoned at her, pointed at an empty seat in front of him. Nessie needed no other invitation and practically rushed up to the seat, plonking herself down with a relieved sigh. The movement didn't go unnoticed. There were a few titters from behind her. She blushed and began rummaging around her bag self-consciously.

"Don't worry," she heard Jackson mutter. "No-one blames you for being happy to get away from the Bimbo Queen." Nessie smiled at him and was about to say something in reply when the teacher snapped, "Carter! Stop talking back there or it's detention for you! That goes for you too, Miss Cullen!" Nessie snapped her mouth shut with an audible click. The teacher began to teach them about the kidney. After a while Nessie felt something nudge her shoulder. She looked back and saw Jackson holding out a folded piece of paper. She took it and, glancing at the teacher to make sure he hadn't noticed, opened it. It read: _Nessy, you want to sit with me and my friends at lunch? _Nessie felt herself brightening and, suddenly, Allison's bullying didn't seem to matter anymore. Without checking if the teacher was looking she turned around, smiling brightly, and nodded. Jackson's lips tweaked upwards in response and he looked a little shell-shocked at her obvious happiness, but Nessie didn't notice. She was too busy being relieved that she wouldn't have to spend another lunchtime, peaceful as it was, in the library.

When it came to lunch, Nessie made her way to the spot Jackson had told her about, a little part away from the school buildings, under the relative shelter of the trees. She shyly made her way to a colourful group of umbrellas, shielding their holders from the rain. She slowly made her way towards them, hoping that, somewhere amongst the chatter of voices, was Jackson, and that she wasn't about to make a total fool of herself. Again.

"Hey! Nessie!" a familiar voice called out and she smiled in relief, at Jackson, who was sharing a black umbrella with a girl with short, hot pink hair. She made her way over to them. "Whoa, you're totally drenched. Don't you have an umbrella?"

"I like the rain," she admitted, squeezing out her ringlets. The girl with pink hair laughed a little.

"Yeah, we can see," she told Nessie, but not in a mean way. "So, you're Nessie. I'm Melissa."

"You have pink hair," Nessie blurted. Jackson laughed.

"Yeah, I kind of figured," smiled Melissa as Nessie blushed. "Ha, you just went bright red."

"I do that a lot," admitted Nessie.

"Hey, Jackson, who's goldilocks?" asked someone. There were five or so people gathered around them. The one who had asked was a boy with scruffy red hair.

"Everyone, this is Nessie," he introduced. "Nessie, this is everyone."

"Hi," she said nervously, giving a little wave.

"Dude, you don't have to be so nervous," the boy with scruffy red hair told her. "We don't bite. Much."

Nessie had no idea why she said what she did to that. "I do," she admitted. She blushed as she, too late, realised her mistake. Luckily the others seemed to take it as a joke and laughed.

"I'm Mason," the red-head told her. A round of introductions greeted Nessie as she sat down. The others looked at her oddly.

"Do you want to come under the umbrella?" they offered. Nessie was sitting in the rain.

"No, I'm perfectly happy," Nessie replied. And it was true.


	5. Interruptions

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Five**

Interruptions

"...And after that I went there and, watch this," Nessie put her hand on Jacob's forehead. She was telling him about her day in the best way she could. He shut his eyes and, after a moment, snorted.

"I can't believe you said that," he muttered, a smile pulling up the corners of his mouth, making her smile.

"Said what?" she asked as she took her hand away from his forehead and went back to her work. She had found a few mathematical formulas she hadn't heard of and was trying them out.

"That you bit," he replied.

Nessie winced. "I'm trying to forget it."

"Ah, Nessie," Jacob leaned back, relaxing. "You are one of those people who just blurt out whatever comes into your head."

"No, I don't!" Nessie denied, blushing a little as she watched Jacob's shirt stretch over his muscular frame.

He watched her curiously. "Of course you do. For example, if I asked you what was making you blush, you would say it."

"Jacob," Nessie half-whined, looking back down to her mathematical equations, hoping that Jacob wouldn't go further. Unfortunately, he did.

"What's making you blush?" Jacob asked directly.

"Your muscles," Nessie blurted. Jacob smiled, thinking she was joking, before he saw her increasing colour. Nessie, her cheeks now flaming a bright magenta, kept her eyes to her work. _And away from Jacob's muscles_, said a snide little voice in the back of her head. She ignored it.

"Really?" Jacob mused. He leaned forward on his elbows, tilting Nessie's chin up with a gentle hand. "And why is that?"

"Because there are so many of them! And they're so big!" exclaimed Nessie, cursing herself. Jacob observed her, his eyes taking on a strange quality, a strong emotion she had never seen before. It made her breath shorten. He stared into her eyes, his direct gaze making blood rush to her cheeks again.

"And now?" he muttered. Their faces had grown closer and she could feel the breath from his words as they brushed her lips.

"Huh?" she managed to say, having forgotten what they were talking about.

"What's making you blush now?"

"You eyes," she breathed. Jacob didn't grin this time. He remained completely serious, his lips not moving, apart from a slight tremble which she felt in the minute disturbances in the air. She wondered what was making him tremble before she realised it was her. She knew this because he was having the same effect on her.

Then the phone rang, making them jump.

Since they were so close together, this made them crack heads together.

"Ow," Jacob exclaimed. The tension had left the room. Jacob smiled cheerfully. "Damn, you have a hard head."

"No, you just have a soft one," Nessie laughed before going to the phone. As she walked to it, she tried to convince herself she was grateful for the interruption.

"Hello?" she said cheerfully as she answered the phone.

"Hi, Nessie? This is Jackson from school. You gave me your number today." He said it a little unsurely, which struck Nessie as odd for the boy who seemed full of almost arrogant confidence.

"Oh, hi, Jackson," she said, genuinely happy.

"Yeah, hey," he sounded a little more relieved. Still, his nervousness was apparent as he continued, "Um, you know those formulas we got in maths today?"

"Uh-huh," Nessie replied as she looked over her shoulder at the abandoned maths page. The memory of what had caused her to abandon them made a flush tinge her cheeks again.

"Well, I'm not getting them. Are you?"

"Yeah, I understand them. Mrs Richards explained them really well."

"Which is why you'll get an 'A' at the end of the year, and why I'll fail. You listen. I talk."

Nessie laughed. She liked Jackson. "I'm sure you won't fail."

"That's why I called, actually," he sounded nervous again. "I was wondering if you'd be okay with coming to a little study group we have down at the local cafe. The whole group is there, and...Yeah, it's something we always do. Study group on Wednesday. Can you come?"

"Sure.

"It's okay if you don't- Oh, you can come?" he sounded marginally more cheerful.

"Yeah, I can come help you study. It's really easy once it's explained properly," Nessie told him eagerly. "I'm not sure how good a teacher I'll be, but I can try."

"No, no, I'm sure you'll be great," he said. He told her the name and place of the cafe, and that they would be meeting in five minutes. When she hung up, Nessie began gathering her books. "Jacob? Were you listening?" she called out.

"Uh, for some of it," Jacob replied from the living room. He looked a little disturbed for some reason. "I thought you might like some privacy, so I tried to tune out." He sounded vaguely guilty.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Nessie told him, a little confused. Privacy? He gave her enough privacy. _A little too much_, said a wistful voice inside her, which she ignored. Did she do something to make him think he needed to give her more space? "So, you know I'll be out for a little while?" she told him, walking into the living room.

"Yeah, I know. I might actually do some study for college," he smiled. "Make sure the grey matter doesn't go to waste."

She laughed in reply. "I'll leave you to it, then. See you," she called as she left the house, deciding to run.

"Yeah," Jacob muttered behind her. She had already ran too far away, by that time, to catch the thoughtfully worried tone in Jacobs voice.

Nessie ran through the rain, her book clutched to her chest so that it would remain dry. She took the longest route possible so she wouldn't get there until everyone else was. Even so, Jackson's eyebrows shot up when he saw her.

"Nessie. You're here quick. And wet," he greeted with a smile. The girl with pink hair, Melissa and the boy with red hair, Mason, were there too, as well as a scruffy-looking boy who had sat with them at lunch, nodding his head occasionally with his earphones in his ears.

Nessie had thought this was a little odd, as there had been no music playing on it. He was staring off into the distance now, with his earphone still in. No music was playing then, either. Jackson saw the direction of her gaze.

"Hey, David," Jackson rose his voice, as if there was actually music playing. David looked at him. "Say hi to Nessie."

"Right," David smiled as he pressed a button on his MP3 player. He said, politely, "hey, Nessie. Sorry about that. I'm kind of music-obsessed."

"Yeah, that's okay," she smiled too, deciding that maybe he just wasn't very fond of talking. He went back to gazing into the distance as they all went inside. Jackson chatted as much and as loudly as he did in class, if not more so. He seemed excited. They did get out their books, but they remained closed on the table, and it became clear, to Nessie, that the 'studying' was just a cover for them to get together and chat. Except for David. He actually studied quietly at the edge of their table, almost like he wasn't a part of their group.

Odd.

"Hey!" called Nessie as she waltzed in through the door. "I'm HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

"Yeah, I can hear," laughed Jacob. "Anything else you'd like to scream out to the world?"

She looked at him in shock. He was sitting on a desk, actually studying the stuff he was learning in university. "Y-you're studying," she said, a little shell-shocked.

"Yeah," Jacob laughed once. "Yeah, I am." There was a brief silence in which Jacob began to squirm a little under Nessie's shocked stare. "I did say I would," he eventually said, a little defensively.

"Yes, but I thought you were kidding,' she admitted.

"What, am I too nerdy for you now?" he smiled, but it was strangely humourless.

"Of course not!' she cried joyfully as she threw her books onto the table and locked Jacob in a head lock. "Good for you, using that brain!"

Jacob laughed as he freed himself and tackled her. They laughed wildly as they wrestled. Wrestling was something they'd always. Once they'd done it for three hours straight until Rosalie had sighed and thrown a couch at them. Still, they'd knocked down half of the house she'd bought by then, so it was deserved. But before there had always been someone present, someone to make sure things didn't get too wild. Usually Edward and Bella. But not to make sure things didn't get so rough they'd accidentally hurt one another. No, it was for the complete opposite reason.

But now there was no-one. Just them. And, and they wrestled, they began to laugh less. Not because they weren't enjoying themselves, but because they were enjoying themselves too much. There were heated moments when they locked eyes in awkward positions and would freeze before one or both of them would resume the wrestling match.

The match ended when, during one of these moments, Jacob flipped Nessie over so he was pinning her down. His face looked at hers from a hairs' breadth away.

"Do you surrender?" he asked her, without his usual smile. Nessie knew what he was really asking. Are you ready to take this further? To be more than friends?

While she was at the cafe, she'd had time to think. And she had thought the exact question Jacob was indirectly asking her. Am I ready?

Yes.

Yes, she was ready.

Then the phone rang again.

"Ah, for the love of god," Jacob exclaimed as he jumped up, the tension leaving them both. He answered the phone, as Nessie recovered, gasping a little, even though she didn't exactly need air. Jacob held out the phone to her. "Oh, hi." Jacob sounded a little mollified. "Yeah, I bet you all do. You knew you couldn't keep her all coddled up forever, though," he said.

"Is that who I think it is?" asked Nessie. Jacob nodded and chatted for a few more minutes while Nessie fidgeted, firmly looking away from Jacob, until, finally, he handed her the phone.

"_Renesmee_!" cried Bella delightedly. They gushed to each other for a few minutes. Everyone was in the background. They had a conversation where everyone was talking to everyone at once. They all asked her how things were and if everything was going okay. Several times they asked her if she wanted to come home.

The last time one of them asked it was when her father asked, "so Jacob is treating you honourably? If he isn't just say and come right home-"

"Dad!" she exclaimed, blushing, as Jacob snorted from the other room.

"Tell him I'm being completely honourably and to stop being so nosey!" he shouted.

"I heard," muttered Edward.

"Jacob is being the perfect gentleman!" Nessie denied. For a moment she thought of the two charged moments that day, where they had been interrupted by the ringing phone. She charged on. "And it's fun here. It's really interesting meeting all these new people."

After a few more minutes of goodbyes, they hung up. Nessie was all smiles.

"I'm so happy they called,' she said. "I was beginning to think they'd forgotten me.

Jacob decided not to mention that he'd told them to not call for a few days, to give Nessie some time to adjust, and not to call every day after that. "I'm sure they were thinking about you all the time."

Everyone was happy after having called Nessie. But Edward seemed to have something on his mind. He walked outside, and Bella followed him.

"Edward?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

Edward glanced to her and the worry melted from his face as he saw Bella, the wind blowing her hair over her shoulder. "No. Not at all." He took her into his arms.

"It's the way Renesmee sounded, isn't it? When she said Jacob was being a perfect gentleman," Bella predicted. Edward nodded. "I know what you mean. And she said he was a gentleman. No-one could call Jacob a gentleman."

Edward smiled. "No. No-one could." He drew back and looked at Bella. "Do you think we should say something?"

Bella had a steely maternal glint in her eye. "No. I think we should _do _something."

They were both trying to study, sitting opposite each other. Trying being the operative word. They were incredibly aware of the other, their eyes going over the same sentences over and over again without reading any of it. Eventually Nessie glanced up, only to find Jacob looking at her. A slow smile spread over his face.

"What?" Nessie asked, her lips tweaking in an involuntary response.

"Nothing," he said, looking down.

"No, come on, what was it?"

"Nothing."

"Jacob."

He looked up. "I was just thinking how pretty you are."

Nessie was blushing again. She could feel the heat as it seared her cheeks. "Really?" she breathed. The tension was back in the room.

"Really." They leaned towards each other. Jacob paused, looked at the phone. He walked over and disconnected it, then walked back. "Now, there will be no interruptions." Their lips had been about to meet over the table when a knock came at the door. Jacob sighed and it tickled Nessie's lips. She leaned back.

"I'll get it," she volunteered. She opened the door. "Hello?"

A delivery man stood there. "A delivery for Renesmee Cullen?"

"Yeah, that's me." She signed the paper and the delivery man gave her a box. She took it inside.

"What's this?" she asked rhetorically.

"They deliver it now? I thought you'd gotten it before and just hadn't mentioned it," Jacob frowned. "That's a slow delivery system."

Nessie opened it. She gasped, her cheeks going pink again.

"A little present to celebrate your début," he told her, eyes twinkling. "I mailed it here before we left."

In the box was a wooden rose, big as her hand.

"Jacob," she breathed. "It's beautiful. Did _you _make this?"

"Yeah. Didn't you notice the name of our street? Rose Street. Do you like it?"

"Jacob, I love it!" She threw herself into Jacob's arms, hugging him ferociously. "Where did you get the time to make it?"

"Here and there. We had to do something to celebrate."

"Celebrate what?"

"You début into the world. I know I should have said this earlier, but I wanted a gift to mark it with. Nessie...Renesmee...Welcome to life." When he used her name, her full name, it was like it burned as it came from his lips, but not in a bad way. That undeniable tension was back in the room.

Then Jacob's stomach growled.

Now _he _blushed.

It was an interesting phenomena.

"Dinner time?" she asked, laughing.

"Dinner time," he confirmed. He went into the kitchen and looked in the fridge. "Wow...We're out."

"Out of what?" Nessie asked as she walked up behind him.

"Everything." The fridge was completely empty.

"How did we not notice that?" asked Nessie, a little stunned.

"'We'? You don't even cook."

"Because you always do it for me."

"True. I guess it's because I always use those microwave meals, but I used the last of them yesterday." He looked a little sheepish.

"I guess we'll just have to go hunting, then," rejoiced Nessie. Jacob looked much more cheerful at the concept.

"Yeah, we haven't been hunting since we got here," he grinned. _And_, thought Nessie in anticipation. _Out in the forest, just you and me, nothing will be able to interrupt us_.

_Everything is interrupting us! _thought Nessie furiously. It was as if every single woodland creature conceivable was ready to throw itself at them the moment things began getting interesting. They'd decided to see a movie on the way there, then had gone to the nearby forest. They'd both eaten their fill and Jacob had long ago resumed his human form. But he was convinced Nessie hadn't had enough yet.

Well, that's what he kept saying. Nessie thought he was probably amused by her getting irritated every time they were interrupted. She looked at him. He was lounging under a tree, watching her with a little smile. "Don't stop," he said. "It's fun watching you hunt."

"Watching me get annoyed, more like it," muttered Nessie, fully knowing she could hear him. He just smiled. A lightning bolt lit up the sky as a deer leaped between them. Nessie frowned at it as she caught it and tore it's throat out. Curious. The wind had been constantly blowing away from them, into the path the deer had just come from, in fact. The creature should have been able to smell them from a mile away, so why was it running towards them?

"Had enough?" asked Jacob as he stood after she had finished.

"U-huh," answered Nessie, convinced she was about to explode from consuming so much blood. Jacob walked towards her and wiped a little blood from her cheek.

"You missed some," he said, waving the finger at her. She licked it. He laughed.

They had stepped closer to each other, about to start what had been interrupted so many times that night, when another woodland creature began scampering through the growth. Nessie automatically looked for it, stepping away from Jacob. It ran between them.

"It seems everything is interrupting us tonight," Jacob laughed.

"I know," growled Nessie.

"Looks like it's time for us to head home. After all, the world seems to be against us doing anything...else," he paused, giving the word that extra weight.

Nessie was annoyed. That day was the first time she realised just how...how _male _Jacob was. She had never been kissed.

Considering that she had pretty much had a boyfriend since birth, that was kind of pathetic.

She thought for a moment. What could she stand to lose by making the first move? She looked at Jacob, who was looking at her in confusion, wondering why she was just standing there. One look at him made up her mind for her.

"Screw it," Nessie said as she stepped towards Jacob, threw her arms around him and kissed him right on the mouth.

Behind them, someone gasped. Nessie broke away from Jacob in the blink of an eye, whirling around defensively.

Now it was Nessie who gasped. "What are you two doing here?"

Bella and Edward stood before her.


	6. Caught!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Six**

Caught!

"What are you two doing here?" Nessie demanded again, blushing furiously. She was stubbornly ignoring the fact that her _parents _had just caught her throwing herself at a _werewolf_. While it was true that they liked Jacob (well, Edward had some times when he would happily throw Jacob into the nearest brick wall...not that that would actually hurt him, but still...Come to think of that, Bella had moments like that as well...) they wouldn't be happy to see Nessie forcing herself on him.

Not that Jacob seemed to mind. It wasn't like he'd had any time to respond to her kiss, but there had been some heated moments between them lately where Jacob and Nessie's faces had been uncomfortably close...And one moment where they'd been lying down together...Well, they had been wrestling, but still...

A hand waved in front of her face. Nessie blinked to see three sets of eyes looking at her strangely.

"Renesmee? You just had the strangest expression on your face. Are you okay?" asked Bella.

Nessie found she had been wrong; two sets of eyes looked at her strangely, Bella's and Jacob's. But Edward was fluctuating between looking like he wanted to rip off Jacob's head and times where he wanted to get out of there fast. Nessie quickly realised that this was because he had caught the memory of her and Jacob...When they were wrestling...

Nessie was fascinated and a little entertained by how Edward suddenly looked as if he would very much like to sink into the ground.

"I'm fine," Nessie told Bella in response to her question. "But you haven't answered my question yet."

More strange looks from Bella. "We...just did..."

"Yeah, they did. You were kind of zoned out at that time, though," Jacob explained, running a hand through his hair. "What were you thinking about?"

"Wouldn't you like to know," muttered Nessie.

"Actually," said Edward in a strained voice. "He probably would."

Bella gave Jacob what could only be described as an evil look. "_Jacob_," she said in warning.

Jacob, poor, confused Jacob, held up his hands. "I didn't do anything! Why is everyone picking on me?"

"Because you're you," replied Bella.

"Because you're fun to pick on," Nessie told him.

"Possibly because you are trying to seduce my daughter," growled Edward.

"He's what?" snapped Bella.

"Hey- What- Did you not see that just then!" spluttered Jacob, pointing at Nessie. "She _forced _that on me! I'm pretty sure that probably qualifies for sexual abuse!"

"But you can not disagree that you enjoyed it."

Jacob had nothing to say to that. Nessie hid a smile.

"As we were saying," began Bella. "We're here because we thought we'd check up on you."

"It's been how many days since we moved out? Two? Three?"

"We thought we'd check on you," repeated Bella stubbornly. "And you sounded strange over the phone."

_That would be because you just interrupted a very charged moment_, Nessie thought to herself, then remembering that her father was a mind reader. She didn't look at Edward, instead focusing on Bella. "What do you mean, strange?"

Her mother gave her a look. "You called him a gentleman."

"Yeah...So?"

"Jacob is not a gentleman. He is the direct opposite of a gentleman. If it came down to a contest between Jacob and a monkey over who was more of a gentleman, the monkey would win."

"Hey!" spluttered Jacob. "I am still standing right here, you know!"

"So, what now?" asked Nessie. "You checked on us...We're fine-"

"'Fine' isn't the word I would use," growled Edward, glaring at Jacob.

"Can I just remind everyone: SHE kissed ME, not the other way around!"

"As I was saying, we're fine...So will you two go? Not that I'm not happy to see you, but...you know..."

"You want to get back to sexually assaulting Jacob?" asked Bella in a flat voice.

"Yes- _no_! Well..." she trailed off, flustered. Everyone looked at her. "It wasn't sexual assault. I mean, Jacob didn't mind, did you, Jacob?"

"No, I didn't mind," smiled Jacob.

"I _know _you didn't," Edward growled.

"Will you please stop that?" Nessie asked him. "You're like a little dog growling at the mail man while a burglar slips through the back door."

"...That could be taken the wrong way," Bella noted in a strained voice.

"N-_no_! I didn't mean," spluttered Nessie, blushing furiously as she remembered the context.

"...A dog?" asked Edward curiously.

"A _little _dog," reminded Jacob, the werewolf.

"So when are you leaving?" asked Nessie, interrupting.

"We only just got here," Bella told her.

"...So when are you leaving?"

"_Renesmee_."

"What?" she said. "You guys are the ones who randomly showed up here without even calling!"

"That's not the-"

"Yes, it is!" protested Nessie. "Don't you two understand?" She had gotten the attention of everyone now. "By coming here like this, even out of concern, you two have violated my privacy-"

"I thought Jacob was doing that," muttered Edward.

"No, _he _wasn't. _You two _are," snapped Nessie. "I thought you would let me have some time for me to figure out who I am in a situation where not everyone is-is _coddling _me and treating me like a clumsy child, but I guess I was wrong. You don't respect my privacy. And you... You don't _trust _me," she finished in a small, hurt voice.

Edward and Bella took a step towards her, Bella saying, "Renesmee, it's not that-"

Jacob stepped forward too. "Nessie..."

"No," Nessie said, stepping back as she held out a hand. "Please, can you just...Just leave me alone for a while? I just want a little time by myself, okay? I'll be back in maybe an hour. You two..._Three _can wait at the house. I'll deal with you all then. Just...I need to _think_." With that she disappeared. It was true that any of the could have gone after her, but all three seemed to realise that, at that time, if any of them tried to run after her, all they would be doing is pushing her away.

There was an awkward moment where they stood, still and silent in that dark forest, with just their thoughts for company.

Bella was remembering Charlie and how he had reacted to Edward. It was only then, at that very moment, that she completely understood. And she felt it wouldn't be over-estimating what she felt to say that she felt worse than that. Charlie had no connection to Edward, but she and Jacob...She loved Jacob. He was like her brother. But Nessie was her daughter and she felt so many conflicting emotions about this. She wanted to protect Renesmee against anything and anyone who would make her daughter into something other than the sweet, sometimes silly _child _she had come to regard her as. She was Renesmee to stay the way she was. But, even among vampires, nothing stayed the same. Well, not in this case...

But she couldn't protect her daughter against Jacob. She knew that Jacob really wasn't anyone Renesmee needed protecting from. He wouldn't push her into anything she didn't want to do, and if Renesmee would lose all interest in Jacob as...Well as someone to whom could be what Edward was to Bella, then Bella knew Jacob would let her go. It was how she knew that it was serious. Jacob hadn't been able to let Bella go at first, but he loved Nessie so much that if leaving him became her one desire, he would grant that wish without hesitation.

But, even so, that didn't stop her hating Jacob, just a little bit, for taking away the child-Renesmee and replacing it with the Renesmee who was growing up.

Edward was feeling a similar storm of feelings. Over the years he had come to regard Jacob as a brother, someone who would protect his daughter, and indeed, the whole family, from anyone who threatened. The entire Cullen family had begun to regard Jacob as one of them, despite his difference in species. They all loved him in their ways, and Edward wasn't immune. Jacob was sometimes the annoying younger brother who he wanted to throw through a wall, sometimes Nessie's knight in shining armour. But _this_...He didn't want Nessie to be grown-up. She was a child to him, his child, and he wanted her to stay that way. And the fact that Jacob was threatening this...

Edward was very, very confused.

Jacob was hurt. Up until that point, every time Nessie had said she wanted to be 'by herself', which hadn't been that often, she had always meant with him. They were like a set. 'One' really meant both. But when Nessie said, "You two..._Three_..." A little piece of his heart had broken away. A little, childish part which wanted Nessie to stay like she was, attached to him. But he had seen the expression on Nessie's face. He had seen her _need _to be alone, to sort out her thoughts.

He couldn't keep Nessie tied to him forever.

The moment broke when Edward touched Bella's hand. Without looking back, she turned her hand around and held his and pushed her in-built shield away from her mind so Edward could glimpse the one thought.

_I wanted her to stay like she was._

Edward sighed and said, very softly, "me too."

Bella glanced up and saw Jacob turn his head away. Whenever he had been with them, it was always him and Nessie. They weren't always joined at the hip, but it was close. Now he stood a little awkwardly away from them. It was like a repeat of Bella's human days. Bella and Edward...And also Jacob, as if he were an afterthought. Bella removed her shield to let a single thought slip through to Edward. Edward nodded. Feeling secure that, since Edward approved, it could not be a bad idea, she held out her other hand to Jacob. Jacob looked surprised but, after a moment, smiled a little and took it.

"I think we have some talking to do," Bella said, looking at Jacob.

The other two nodded, a male vampire and an Alpha werewolf agreeing.

Nessie ran.

Running had always been a favourite activity of hers. It was like nothing in the world could hold her down. Like she was flying. Running was like her drug. It was addictive. It let her centre her mind, focus entirely on the run. At that time she wasn't running for fun. She was running to get away.

Her feet dipping lightning-quick into puddles, Nessie ran.

They had shown their reaction to her distress. They would crowd her, saying comforting words which would crowd in her brain and conflict, like stuffing different flavours of fairy floss into her brain, confusing her. But Nessie couldn't be crowded at that moment. With so many new experiences, stuffing anything more into her brain would make her explode.

So Nessie ran.

She ran away from the thoughts, ran to empty her mind, ran faster and faster until she was nothing but a blur, even to herself. She was speed and that was it. There was nothing else. No confusing feelings for Jacob (_Jacob niceJacob loveJacob wantJacob butdon'twanttoberejected don' butwantJacob somuch_) or for her parents (_loveBellaandEdward BellaandEdwardsafe comforting butintruders camewhennotinvited don'ttrustmedon'trespectme distrustandnorespect makesithurtsomuchIwanttocry hurts hurtssomuchIwanttodie no,notdie hurts_), just speed.

And Nessie ran.


	7. Our Little Girl

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Seven**

Our Little Girl

The three of them sat in the living room of the small house. The atmosphere was slightly awkward but, in that situation, it would have been ridiculous if it hadn't been. Edward and Bella sat down for the sake of courtesy, Jacob was opposite them. They all sat around the little table in the kitchen.

"So when do you think she'll be back?" muttered Bella, a worried crease appearing between her eyes as a crack appears in stone.

"When she feels like it," Jacob told her pointedly.

"There's no need for rudeness," snapped Edward.

"You see, this is your problem," accused the werewolf, dark eyes glinting.

"I'm afraid I don't quite see your point," murmured Edward, soft and dangerous.

"My point is that you're like this with Nessie. With me, it's anything that can be taken offensively _will_ be taken offensively."

"We aren't like that with you, and especially not with Renesmee!" protested Bella. Edward put an arm around his upset wife.

"You are like that with me. But I didn't say that it's exactly the same with Nessie. With her, it's anything can you somehow think can hurt her she needs to be protected from."

"So what's your point?" challenged Bella. But Edward could read the turbulent thoughts Jacob was trying to express. He looked defiant, but then, slowly, it turned thoughtful.

"My point is... Sometimes people need to be hurt."

Nessie kept running and running and running until all the hurt had been left behind along the way. She was grateful, at moments like those, that she had inherited some of her father's speed. Out of every vampire they came across, Nessie was faster. Except for her father, of course. Not even she could run quicker than he could.

But all thoughts of her father were, like those of her mother and even Jacob, left behind, as Nessie ran.

"Ex-experience it?" spluttered Bella, eyes bright with anger. "What are...Jacob -I..."

"Just hear what he has to say," murmured Edward into Bella's hair, his voice soft and soothing.

She looked at him for a moment. The brightness faded. She reluctantly turned away to face Jacob. "Go on."

"Nessie has been sheltered and coddled all her life," began Jacob. "_All_ her life. She's never really experienced real sadness or real pain or real hurt. She was anxious when the Volturi came by, true, but she wasn't old enough to understand all of it then. And it was never spoken of or anything. She sort of took it that _that_ was the worst that could happen. That everyone would have to band together and save each other. In other words, she thinks everything is a game you either win or lose. Which...I guess isn't a bad way to look at things, but not in Nessie's case."

"Why not in Renesmee's case?" Bella asked.

"Nessie has only ever won. She's only ever _heard_ of winning. _She doesn't know that it's possible to lose_."

Nessie wondered, for a moment, if she had a particular goal in mind. If she was actually running somewhere. But she only wondered this vaguely and without any particular concern or force, in a place somewhere near the back of her mind. If she was running somewhere then she would eventually get there. If she wasn't then she would just run until she...

Until she stopped.

"What do you mean?" inquired Bella, huddling closer to Edward as if seeking his comfort. "That makes no sense. Nessie is smarter than that."

"If you...Aw, heck, I don't know how to say this," muttered Jacob as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. He looked at Edward. "You can put things together well. You tell her!"

Edward inclined his head in a nod. "Do you remember when you didn't know about vampires, Bella? When you thought they were just stories?"

Bella nodded.

"That's what this is like," Jacob took over again. "Maybe Nessie has heard that you can lose. But that's like saying you've heard you can swim. It doesn't mean you can swim, and it doesn't mean she knows she can lose!"

"What are you trying to tell us, Jacob?" asked the dark-haired vampire softly. "Yes, okay, she should get out more often, experience loss...But what would you have us do? Abandon her so she is filled with hurt and pain for the rest of her life just so she knows what it feels like?"

"No!" yelled Jacob. Bella jumped and Edward cleared his throat, catching Jacob's eye.

"Calm down," he told you werewolf.

After a strained moment Jacob, teeth gritted, nodded slightly. "I'm okay. I just...I wouldn't let that happen to her. I'm not suggesting you do, either. But you've got to let her feel some of it. It's like an anti-venom. You've got to let her get an immunity to it."

Somewhere inside Nessie a little switch flicked. Something inside her said, _enough, it's time to stop_. Nessie begun to gradually slow down, like she had always been told to. Then she just couldn't be bothered and halted abruptly, the mud and dirt splaying out in front of her. It felt good. Not the stopping, but the disruption of the organised.

Nessie put her hand on a tree and walked slowly around it in a curious, distant state. She applied just a little pressure and caused deep grooves to spring from her fingers. An elation sprung up in her but she stopped, feeling guilty. The tree was a living thing, after all.

She turned around and began running again, this time back the way she came.

"But where would it end?" asked Bella in a trembling voice. "If we start doing that, where would it end?"

"What do you mean?" questioned Jacob.

"First it starts as...as letting someone insult her, and maybe not comforting her after. Then it goes on to us letting someone throw things at her at not even mentioning it." Bella's voice increased in speed and intensity. "What then? What then, Jacob? We let her jump through fire just so she can feel pain? We let her face the Volturi alone just so she knows terror? We let her _kill _so she knows_ guilt_?"

"No!" roared Jacob as he pounded his fists into the table. Deep cracks resulted and splinters embedded themselves in his hands. "No, it doesn't come to that. It _can't_ come to that. _I won't let it_."

"Neither will I," stated Edward calmly.

"I know you won't...I know neither of you will. But that's what I'm hearing, Jacob." Bella's eyes pleaded with Jacob. They begged him to understand. And, he had to say, he did.

"Bella," he sighed. "If that's what you hear...Then I'm sorry, but your hearing sucks."

The spell which had hung over them, the heavy weight, was broken.

Bella smiled. It was a ghostly flicker of a smile, but still a smile.

Edward looked at Jacob's hands, wrinkled his nose. "Perhaps you should take care of those splinters. At the moment the smell coming from your blood is enough to make a vampire sick."

Jacob tried to grin. "Yeah, yeah."

Nessie had previously run over a mountain. Now she ran back to it, finding a large rocks wall. She walked close to it, tilting her head. She raised an arm, trailed it softly along the rock, feeling the roughness which was partly disguised, partly intensified, by the wetness of the rain. Nessie did it again, this time digging her fingers in. She wasn't as strong as pure vampires, but she was still strong. And that strength was utilised as she drew small chunks out of the rock, which was almost like crumbling cheese to her strength, so it left jagged edges. She seized these and broke them off. She held the broken-off parts in her hands and crushed her hands together until the rocks broke apart between her palms, crushed to dust. She felt a curious relief in the glorious, glorious destruction.

Nessie's sense of smell was weaker than that of pure blooded vampires. Whether this was because she was a half-breed or simply because of chance, she didn't know. But, whatever the reason for her decreased sense of smell, through the rain she was unable to smell the human being who was, at that moment, watching her breaking apart the rocks in her hands in a little cabin in the hills.

She never felt the human eyes upon her.

She never realised the danger.

Jacob had begun to try and pick out the splinters with his own fingers, but Bella had stopped him and went and got the tweezers. As she frowned over Jacob's hand, gently fishing out splinters, Jacob watched her. She had taken what he'd said surprisingly well, for Bella. He had expected her to throw a draw at his head or something. In truth, Jacob had more to say. He wanted to say how Bella needed to see that her daughter needed to grow in different ways than physically. He needed to tell both her and Edward to leave her alone for a while.

But, as he thought these, he glanced over to where Edward wasn't looking at him, and new that at least Edward had heard it and that, in time, he would make sure Bella knew too, because it would not only help Nessie but Bella too. He was glad it was Edward who was the mind reader because, in all honestly, Bella wasn't the strongest of people. Emotionally, not physically. Physically there was quite a strong possibility of her being completely able to kick his butt.

"She probably could," murmured Edward.

"I know," Jacob mumbled back.

"If you're having a mental conversation about me then stop it," Bella muttered as she dug in the tweezers. Jacob yelped. "You'll live."

"Not with you handling those things," Jacob smirked. She stabbed him in the wrist with the tweezers. "Ow!"

"You'll live."

Jacob glanced at Edward, saw him smirking. "Shut up," he muttered, ignoring the fact that the vampire hadn't said anything.

Suddenly Nessie stopped. What she was doing seemed wrong. She took a breath like she had been drowning and stepped back from the shredded rock wall, turning away from it like she had committed a murder and didn't want to look at it.

"Oh, no," she moaned softly. It wasn't really that she had destroyed something. No, that didn't really matter. It was only rock after all. It was that she had enjoyed it.

That she had revelled in destruction.

That was what horrified her.

And scared her. After all, what could begin with a rock could end with a person. Someone who could feel it.

The thought made her slightly ill and she felt an acute need to be with Jacob and just to have someone hold her and tell her it would all be alright.

Not that she would tell Jacob. Not that she would tell anyone. It scared her, the ecstasy destruction had woken in her. Scared and horrified her.

But she couldn't go home. She couldn't face her parents. What if they detected something in her face? Something which gave her away? Her parents would then hate her.

Hate her as she currently hated herself.

And her father...Her mind-reading father...No, she couldn't go home. She would hope her mobile hadn't been killed by the rain and call Jacob, tell him to ask her parents to go. It would break their hearts, but she would make amends over the phone later on. And it was better than letting them see this new, vicious thing which had evolved in her heart. And, eventually, when she was able to shove this new taste for destruction down far enough that even she forgot about it, she could go back and see her parents again.

Until then she would have to avoid them.

The thought made her feel terribly lonely.

But then she thought of Jacob and didn't feel so lonely any more.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" inquired Jacob.

"You mean, when are we going to leave?" asked Edward.

"...Something like that."

"Just as soon as we make sure Renesmee is okay," supplied Bella. For a few minutes they waited, occasionally talking of the mundane. Then the phone rang. Jacob walked to it, answered.

"Jacob?" asked a quiet, upset-sounding Nessie.

"Nessie, are you okay?" Jacob said immediately.

"I'm fine. I just...Can't deal with my parents right now. Could you...Tell them...to go? Please?"

"Sure," he answered, looking at Bella and Edward, who could hear every word. Bella looked distraught. Edward simply nodded, as if he had expected it.

"And then can you come...get me? I don't really want...I mean I just-"

"Yes, of course I'll come get you."

"Thank you." She told him where she was.

"A payphone?"

"My mobile got wet."

"Okay, I'll be there soon."

They both hung up. Jacob turned to Edward and Bella. "I understand how you guys must feel," he began.

"No, you don't," interrupted Edward. While Jacob hadn't been looking he'd began hugging Bella to his chest. "But you are trying, and I thank you for that. Bella and I...It seems that we must leave."

"T-tell her we love her," Bella told him through hardly moving lips, looking as if she would cry if she were human.

"I will," promised Jacob. A moment later they were gone.

Nessie waited at the front of the truck stop she had found with a single, dingy payphone. She'd had some coins in her pocket, which she was grateful for. Now she waited for Jacob.

A little while later two warm arms closed around her. Nessie closed her eyes, lent back. "Don't let go, Jacob."

"I won't," Jacob told her. "Shall we go home?"

Nessie nodded, not saying that, with Jacob's arms around her, she already was.


	8. The Note

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Eight**

The Note

"Tell me what's wrong."

It had been a week since her parents had left, and Nessie had been growing distant. She had shared her days with him, but there was something hanging over her, a kind of depression which he couldn't alleviate no matter what he did. She'd tried to hide it, but he had known her too long, and observed her too closely for that. She couldn't hide that something was bothering her. However, she had succeeded at hiding what exactly it was.

Renesmee herself had felt this talk coming. Jacob had clearly been building up to it, trying to ask her what was wrong but not being able to. That didn't make it any easier to hear now.

She and Jacob were parked in the parking lot of school. It had been progressing the same as the first few days had. Allison's taunting had continued for the first few days, but had recently reduced, probably because the other had grown bored of Nessie. That hadn't helped Nessie's dismal mood. She hung out with a handful of people, Mason, Melissa, David and Jackson, but they hadn't really been able to help. They hadn't known her long enough to even tell that anything was wrong. She'd been quieter, more withdrawn, but they hadn't known her long enough for this to be strange. Except for Jackson. He was, somehow, able to see that Nessie was different, less cheerful. So she tried to smile and talk more around him. It worked some of the time, but he had asked her if something was the matter a few times. She had, of course, told him it was nothing. If she wouldn't tell Jacob, she wouldn't tell Jackson. He hadn't believed her, and Nessie had the feeling Jacob would be the same when she gave him the same answer.

"Nothing is wrong."

His expression showed that she was correct. He didn't believe her. "You've been different, Nessie. Not yourself. I can see something is wrong. What's happened?"

"All I've been doing is going to school," Nessie rolled her eyes, attempting for sarcasm. "What could possibly happen there?"

"Is it that girl again?" asked Jacob, frowning. "The one who was teasing you before? The Bimbo?" He tried to make it into a joke, but the situation gave it a quick death.

"Of course not," snorted Nessie dismissively. "She's just a girl in my class. She couldn't make me feel like this. That would be stupid." That was her, of course. Stupid that she felt this bad about everything. Intellectually, she recognised it was probably foolish to feel so bad about the destruction. But, for the first time, she had seen something in herself that she didn't like, and it had disturbed her to her very core.

"So there is something bothering you," Jacob grabbed onto this small confirmation and held on tight, but Nessie didn't answer. He paused, thought for a moment. A moment of insight came to him, and he thought he'd found what was wrong. "Don't ever feel stupid, just because you feel bad someone is picking on you," he advised earnestly. "You haven't been exposed to a lot of strangers, so you're going to react differently than everyone else. It may feel really big at first, but their opinions don't matter unless you let them. FDR's wife once said that you can't let anyone make you feel inferior without permission."

"I think you mangled the quote," noted Nessie wryly. "With all that studying you do, as well." It was true. Lately Jacob had been studying extra hard. Every time Nessie had been invited out, Jacob got a glint in his eye, and began flicking through the text books. Nessie knew that he had been invited out himself a few times, but these invitations he always turned down. It was like, every available moment he had out of university, he wanted to spend it with her. Or if not with her, then studying, which seemed to be unlike Jacob. She was touched, of course, but it put pressure on her to be like she had been before. He was trying to impress her by becoming smarter. But that wasn't why she loved him, it wouldn't change anything. She couldn't be like she was before, couldn't give him anything to hold onto. All she could do was hurt him. To avoid this she kept trying to spend time out of the house, going over her friends' houses, going out the cafes with them.

"Got to go," she told Jacob, slipping out of the car and waving at him as he started it and began driving away.

Jacob had seen Nessie come to life again for a brief moment, but then her depression descended again. Something serious was bothering her, and he had the feeling that it was more than a simple school problem. The problem was, he didn't know what he could do to find out.

Nessie noted, with some interest, that Allison had changed her hair colour again. That made it twice within the first week. The first time, she had changed it to red, but Jackson had accused her of trying to look like their red-headed friend, Mason. The next day, Allison had changed it, this time to a light brown. In this way, Nessie discovered why Jackson had called her the Chameleon. That day, Allison was talking to her friends, as Nessie walked in.

"…I mean, I want to go blonde again," Allison was saying.

"Yeah, you looked good blonde."

"I know," she agreed. "And I could wear, like, _any_ colour and it matched. But, the thing is, you can't go blonde unless you totally kill your hair with bleach, and I don't want to do that." She caught sight of Nessie as she tried to hurry past. "Maybe I should just go ranga like her."

"You can try," Jackson called in the near-empty class. Nessie looked up, surprised to see him there that early. He was usually bordering on late. "She'll still be prettier than you, Chameleon."

"If you like her that much, just go out with her," Allison spat at him.

Jackson laughed as Nessie sat beside him, but it sounded strange. Different from Jackson's purely comical laugh should have been. The next words, however, were purely Jackson. "My heart is already yours, Chameleon, and I can never give it to another. You, with your ever-changing, many-coloured hair… With your ever-curled lip and always-ready finger, just needing a little prompting to stick up…" He clasped both hands over his heart and looked up. "I can't even look at you lest my eyes burn out with your glory."

"Up yours, stoner." Allison turned around.

"Wow, she didn't give me the finger," murmured Jackson to Nessie as she sat down beside him. "I was worried she was getting less creative, and that would be all of my fun gone."

"You're here early, aren't you?" Nessie asked him.

"Yeah, I meant to tell you before," he began, taking something out of his pocket. "You have a locker, and my mum told me to give you the key. I kept forgetting. Sorry about that."

"Oh, thanks," she said. "Your mum had the key to my locker?"

"Yeah, she works in student services." Jackson looked as his watched, nodded. "We could go there now, if you want, and you can stash your books there. You've been carrying them around all this time, your arms must be tired."

"Not really," Nessie blurted, not remembering that she didn't appear to be particularly strong. "I mean yes."

Jackson gave her an odd look, but they left the class together, ignoring the titters of Allison and the others as she muttered something about going for a make-out session. Jackson led her to her locker. Nessie walked in silence. They stopped after a little while, in front of a grey, vertical metal locker which looked like all the others. "Here it is."

The metal lockers would have all looked the same to a human, but Nessie's enhanced eyesight meant she was able to see the minute scratches and indents which marked it as unique. She affixed its location in memory and thanked Jackson as she took the slip of paper he held, on which was the locker number and code. She looked at it, began spinning the combination lock, right twice, left once, then right twice again.

"These things are really sticky, so it might not open the first time…" Jackson began, drawing off as Nessie managed to successfully open the locker first time. "Or… You know… Maybe the rest of us are just idiots or something. Are you just naturally good at everything?"

Nessie laughed slightly. "My dad is. Maybe it's… Hereditary." She stopped, mumbled the last word as she remembered her last meeting with her father.

"You okay?" asked Jackson, softer this time.

"Fine, it's just…"

"Family crap?"

Nessie laughed at this simplification. "Yeah. Family crap."

"Parents can be a bit overbearing at times."

"You're telling me," she agreed enthusiastically before hesitating. "But, this time… I think it might have been my fault. I did something really cruel to them. They came to visit and I got upset and…Stormed off. And I upset them. I told them to go before I came back, over the phone."

"Wow," Jackson replied, looking at her seriously. "I can't imagine you doing that. What did they do?"

"They just left, I think. But I wasn't there."

"No, I mean before."

"Oh. They were just getting a bit oppressive," admitted the girl, frowning. Jackson watched, saw that a line appeared between her brows. "I overreacted, and now I feel really bad… But, the thing is, I still think they were being oppressive!"

"Ah, confusing," nodded the boy. "Don't you hate it? It's all part of being a teen, they say. Me, I can't wait 'till it's over. The whole adolescent thing. Unfortunately for us, we guys don't become mature until, I think, twenty something."

"You guys don't become mature until never." People had been passing them, the concentration of students in the hallway steadily increasing. Melissa approached them now, clearly in a hurry, but having enough time to overhear and shoot them the cheeky comment. "The bell's going to go, soon, so stop keeping her from going to class, Jackson."

"Your hair's purple!" blurted Nessie, surprised as the other girl walked off.

"I did notice," Melissa called without looking back, the bright purple strands looking as if she'd poured purple highlighter fluid over her head.

Jackson was laughing slightly. "Hey, listen. You're young. You can overreact and people will forgive you. Girls are supposed to mature faster than guys, but you'll still be forgiven."

"You have no idea how fast," replied Nessie dryly, yet again talking without allowing thought to intercede.

"Oh, oh, okay!" Jackson backed off, holding his hands up, pretending to be offended. "I see how it is! Me and my immature butt will get back to class, then. Since you're so grown-up, you won't need us."

"Since when did your butt get another personality?"

"Since now." The bell went, and he swore, turned around and began running. Over his shoulder he called, "I'll meet you there. I don't want to get that detention the teacher keeps promising me."

Nessie shook her head as she looked back at her locker. She could pretend to be normal. Even if she clearly wasn't. That meant continuing to be like she had before. That also meant having a locker like everyone else, even if she could simply carry all her books. She opened it.

At the bottom of her otherwise empty locker was an envelope. Frowning, Nessie reached in and pulled it out. It was plain, like you would get at a news agent's. She opened it. The note read, _I know what you are. I will tell everyone, unless you follow my instructions._

Nessie walked into human biology just in time not to get a detention, but it was close. She sat beside Jackson, giving him a quick smile when he shot her a quizzical glance. She looked around the classroom while the teacher began telling her about bone structure, something which she had already studied.

Who could have written the note and slipped it into her locker? Someone who knew what she was, obviously. But who in the class would know about vampires? It was a well-kept secret. More than that, who would know about her status as a half-vampire, half-human? Only other vampires would know that, unless they had been told by one. But which vampire would benefit from that? The Volturi? Despite their many negatives, they weren't this petty. This wasn't them.

Or, perhaps, whoever had written the note only knew that she was vampire, and not about her mother being impregnated while she was human. But how could they? There was no time she had betrayed herself, not time she had acted anything other than human in school.

The two last words stuck in her mind. _In school_. There had been that shameful day, a week ago, when she had revelled in the aimless destruction. When she had discovered a part of herself that she had quickly leaned to detest. But what if she hadn't been the only one who had learned of this? What if someone else had seen her? Had seen her run? Had seen her…

"Nessie," Jackson nudged her. She jumped, looked around. The class was looking at her, tittering slightly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Cullen," the teacher said with a good deal of sarcasm. "Is there someone in this class more interesting than the way the canaliculi infiltrate the Haversian systems?"

"Uh-"

"If you could focus on the lesson instead of staring at everyone trying to learn it," he continued, his voice raising. "I would be grateful."

Nessie blushed, angrily looking down. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Now, back to the blood vessels…"

A note touched Nessie's arm. Jackson had pushed it over subtly, appearing as if he were still focused on the teacher. Nessie, with equal subterfuge, took it, opened it, looked down as if she were reading her notes. _What's wrong? You looked scared._

Nessie's expression was far too true to her own emotions than was good for her. At least it was easier to lie in writing. _Nothing_, she wrote. _Just something I realised_.

In a way, it was true. She had realised that, if whoever had written the note held true to their threats… If they told everyone… the secret would be out. And then, the Volturi, who had hunted them years ago, at the beginning of Nessie's life, would come again. Who knew what they'd do this time?

Nessie tried to think of something else, to stop her mind continuing to drive itself in circles, wondering what exactly the note-deliverer would ask her to do. But she couldn't stop feeling the note, light as it was, in her pocket, like an accusation. An accusation that she had messed up, big-time.


	9. The Scent of Candy

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Chapter Nine**

**The Scent of Candy**

It was lunch and the note kept weighing on Nessie's mind. Alison's insults, which usually occupied most of her mind, took a back seat. Even her own problems, how messed up she actually was, retreated from her immediate concerns.

A hand waved in front of her face. She started, looked up at Melissa. "Nessie? I've been saying your name for a while… Anything wrong?"

"No, nothing." Nessie tried for a quick smile.

"Hm." By Melissa's unsatisfied tone, she could see Nessie was lying. It wouldn't have surprised her. A blind chipmunk could have told Nessie if she was telling the truth or not. "I was just thinking; how about the four of us go on a camping trip?"

"The four of who?"

"Man, you were really out of it," laughed Jackson, shaking his head. "More than David here." David, sitting beside him, didn't respond. Jackson took off his shoe and threw it at him. The sheer randomness of it, and the surprise written over David's features, made Nessie smile. Not laugh, like she would have a few weeks ago, but it was still a smile.

"What?"

Jackson shook his head, looking at Melissa. "You may as well explain it again. Half of the four musketeers were in their own worlds."

"There are three musketeers," Nessie pointed out.

"Figure of speech, goldilocks, figure of speech."

Melissa looked at Nessie. "As I was saying to you…Jackson, I guess, since you guys weren't listening, I want the four of us to go camping together. Usually Mason comes along, but since he had to go to Canada with his parents, you can come instead."

They sat in the same place as usual, the four of them huddled under umbrellas. It was raining again, unsurprisingly, and the cold bite to the air hinted that snow may fall soon.

"Don't you think," David said, looking at the sky pointedly. "This isn't the best weather for camping?"

"Just 'cause you're a wimp," Jackson teased.

"Just 'cause I'm sane, you mean." Jackson's shoe was still in David's hand.

"Can I have my shoe back?"

"No."

"Guys, focus, please," Melissa interrupted, waving around her hands. "I know it's hard, since you're guys…" They looked at her oddly. She realised what she said. "_Argh_! I didn't mean that."

"_Sure_ you didn't," Jackson said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"You have a sick mind. _Anyway_," she turned to Nessie to direct her words at the girl. "I have a cabin. Well, my dad does, but he lets me use it when he's away on work."

"Is it big enough for four?" inquired Nessie.

"Oh, sure, we go up there all the time. We can squeeze you in."

"You know, given what you said before, that could be taken wrongly," Jackson stated.

"Or _so_ rightly," grinned David. The two of them high-fived.

Melissa shook her head in disgust. "Why am I friends with you perverts?" She turned back to Nessie. "Do you think you could make it? Dad comes back week after next, so if we're going to go, it kind of needs to be this weekend."

Maybe it would help relieve the tension building up between her and Jacob if they some time apart from one another. "Sure. Why not?"

David placed the earphones back into his ears, touching his MP3 player. But it didn't play anything. All the times Nessie had seen David with his earphones in, and she hadn't heard it play a single song. She wasn't even sure it worked. He was always listening to nothing.

"Dude, give me my shoe."

"Your shoe is mine."

Or maybe it was just David.

"You really want to go?" Jacob asked in surprise when she mentioned it to him later on.

"Yeah, I think it would be good."

"You sure you'll be alright?"

"What, do you think I would eat them in my sleep or something?" Nessie noted, exasperatedly, that Jacob didn't reply. "I'll be in the middle of the forest! There'll be plenty of small, helpless, furry things to munch on, and it's not like I can't control myself. You're as bad as my parents."

Immediately, she regretted saying the last sentence. Jacob was silent. She looked away. Silences between them had been comforting. Expectant. Sometimes filled with some emotion. But never, _never_ had they been awkward, like this one. She was messing everything up. Not only may she have betrayed the secret, but she had also ruined her relationship with Jacob. Almost to herself, quiet as she could, she whispered, "maybe I shouldn't have left."

A hand touched her chin, raised it. Warm brown eyes met her, filled with a compassion she didn't deserve. "Of course you should have. You need to get out of that place. It just seems a little overwhelming, but you'll get through this."

Nessie smiled weakly back, made some excuse, that she needed to go study. Jacob said he had to do the same, but his heart wasn't in it. He'd been studying a lot lately.

It may have been that her familial environment had been over-protective. But now she realised why. It was because the world was a big, complicated, difficult place, and she was worried that Jacob was wrong. She wouldn't get through it. She was afraid the world would overwhelm her completely.

Alison sneered at her as she walked into human biology. "Lose something, freak?" The name had become popular only amongst Alison and her two bimbos. But it wasn't that which made Nessie freeze form where she sat, as usual, beside Jackson. It was that she'd spent the last few minutes looking for the note, which she'd left in those same jeans the previous day but had lost. And now Alison had it. And now Alison knew that Nessie wasn't normal, that something was wrong, and she would tell everyone, and-

A hand touched hers. Nessie flinched away from it, breathing rapidly. Her fist had been tightly clenched on the table. Her startled eyes met Jackson's. He looked surprised at her reaction. "You okay?"

She nodded jerkily. "Just nervous about the test."

"You'll do fine," he told her. They had a maths test that day with Mrs Richards. Nessie looked around her desk in vain, trying to see if the note was there. It wasn't. She had to get it back.

She wasn't nervous about the test in maths. It was only a 'tester' test, as Mrs Richards had called it, a sample of their abilities and how much they had to improve. Later during the day, they sat the test, and it was every bit as easy as Nessie had expected.

"Man, that was hard," Jackson said afterwards.

Mrs Richards, overhearing this, said, "if you didn't skip ever few days and bothered to listen when you bothered to come, it wouldn't be." She lightly bopped him on the head with the tests she was collecting. "You seem distracted, Nessie. Have you lost something?"

"Oh, ah," the girl stuttered, caught off-guard. She'd been glancing around, wondering if she had left the note in maths. "No, not it's just… Well, yes."

"What is it? I can keep an eye out, if you want?" the teacher offered kindly as the bell went. She called over her shoulder, to the class. "If you're results aren't up to scratch, I'm doubling your homework." There were good-natured groans from the leaving students. She turned back to Nessie.

"Oh, well… If you wouldn't mind," Nessie said, grateful for another pair of eyes to help her look. "It's a note."

"Does it say anything important?" she asked. Nessie noticed that, out of the corner of her eye, Jackson had stilled.

"I guess," she admitted, it only occurring to her there and then that, if the teacher should find the note, she'd wonder about what exactly it meant. "If you find it, let me know."

"Will do," Mrs Richards promised, gathering her things. "Sometimes these things are right under our noses."

Nessie nodded, left with Jackson. He cleared his throat as they walked. "So, uh… Who's it from? The note I mean? Is it from a boyfriend?"

"No, it's nothing like that," Nessie negated.

"Well, what did it say?" asked Jackson, a little more cheerful. "I can keep an eye out too."

Nessie thought it over. If he found it, she could just say that it was someone trying to bully her. "It said something like, 'I know what you are'. I don't know who it's from but I want to keep it so if I see the writing again, I'll know who sent it."

"Good idea," Jackson commented, taking out his umbrella as they walked outdoors. They, including Melissa and the others, were the only ones who would venture outside when it was raining, which was always. The rest of the school stayed in the cafeteria. "That's weird, though. 'I know what you are.' Do you know what it means?"

Nessie shrugged. They reached Melissa and David, who were having a very intent discussion.

"Dude," David was saying. "Star Trek is so retarded. Star Wars kicks arse."

"Lies!" shouted Melissa. "If Mason was here he'd kick your butt. Star Trek rules Star Wars. It's much more expanded, for one."

"That's because the makers tried to milk the audience for every drop of money they could get. Star Wars knew that six movies were enough."

"Guys, guys!" Jackson held up his free hand, calling for peace. They looked at him. "Calm yourselves. We are all sci-fi nerds. It doesn't matter what kind. We gather in sci-fi glory!" Jackson looked at Nessie. "You are a sci-fi nerd, right? Because I may have to reject you forever if you aren't."

"Uh… I haven't actually watched or read much science fiction."

Jackson stared for a moment before shaking his head in disappointment. "You poor, deprived girl… We can fix this on the weekend. You can come, right?"

"Yeah, I can come."

"Good. We can start with the best sci-fi of all; the awesomeness that is Doctor Who."

"You suck, Jackson," Melissa said.

"Oh, can I ask," Jackson began, remembering something. "Can you guys keep an eye out for a note Nessie's lost?" Jackson quickly relayed the description of the note.

"Yeah," agreed Melissa. "I can do that."

"Sure," David added. "We can sniff it out for you."

"Thanks, guys," Nessie replied, touched.

"What are friends for?"

They spent the rest of lunch together, but Nessie was thinking now. David's words had caught in her mind, catching on Mrs Richard's._ Sometimes these things are right under our noses… We can sniff it out for you_.

Vampires had enhanced abilities, including scent. Her sense of smell wasn't as good as her father's or mother's, or even Jacob's, but they were much better than human's. Maybe she could literally sniff out the paper.

She waited until lunch was over, then skipped her next class. It was art, and always crowded and noisy, so she wouldn't be missed. The note would carry her scent. But Alison had taken it, so it would carry hers too. First, she snuck into the empty human biology class, keeping an ear out for any approaching footsteps. She scanned Alison's desk, but nothing was there. Then she shut her eyes and inhaled. Air rushed in and out of her lungs. First, she couldn't notice any particular smells. She usually went around detecting particularly strong smells, but had conditioned herself not to notice them. Usually, she didn't use her nose any more than a regular human. She'd never needed to. But she was not a regular human, and it was about time she recognised that.

Too many people used the class. She smelled a hundred different scents, a hundred different body odours, not all of them unpleasant, not all of them pleasant, but none of them smelling like they wouldn't to a human. Each scent was mingled with perfume, sweat, the pulsing blood under the skin which gave each human a different fragrance. She located Alison's by the Candy perfume she always wore, and how it tried to overwhelm the natural fragrance of her skin. She collected this scent and walked around the class. Her own scent was different from all the others, and easier to locate. If not for the excessive use of perfume, she might not have been able to find Alison's and match it with hers. As it was, the two distinct scents were simple enough to match together. She looked everywhere in the class they crossed, then moved to the library and did the same. She couldn't find the note anywhere. She walked along the halls, mindful of teachers and students, until she found a locker reeking of Candy and Alison. She inhaled deeply, smelling for her own scent.

The note wasn't there. Her scent was so distinct, she knew she would have picked it up immediately, even if she wasn't as good as Jacob.

In desperation, she exited the place, following Alison's scent. She stopped when she actually heard the girl. She wasn't the only one out of class.

"I know, mother…" Alison was listening to someone over the phone. Nessie scooted around the room she was in, towards the front doors. "I'll do better next time. I'm sorry." The girls' tone was brittle, but not quite sorrowful. Nessie couldn't think about it; she was too focused on the scent. She went out into the car park. The rain washed away all scents, so she couldn't smell anything from there. She went out into it, darting along the rows of cars, sniffing at each one. If anyone saw her now, it would look odd. She came across a motorcycle, and her delicate nose picked up Candy. Not only that, but it was mingled with her own scent.

Her hand slipped down to a small compartment on the motorcycle. It was locked. She unthinkingly wedged her finger into the edge, prising until the lock popped. Inside was the note. A moment later, this was in Nessie's pocket and she was inside, just as the bell went. Melissa was in her next class, and she asked why Nessie was drenched. Nessie just smiled at her, hiding a complex play of emotions. She was, first and foremost, victorious. But there was also the fear that someone had seen her sniffing about like a dog. The nervous speculation that the note had originally inspired. And there was guilt.

Yet again, she had damaged something without thought. The small motorcycle compartment would never lock again. The only comfort she could feel was that this was comparatively small-scale. At least she hadn't accidentally destroyed the whole motorcycle.

Even so, she couldn't stop the growing guilt inside her heart. Her family had always helped her to navigate this big, complex world, and without them to shield her one of two things would happen. Either she would begin destroying and hurting without thought until someone had to stop her. Or she would be overwhelmed. Nessie wasn't sure which was the worse option.


	10. Blue Friday

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

Chapter Ten

Blue Friday

Nessie blinked at Melissa. "Your hair is blue," she blurted.

"Yes, yes it is," Melissa said cheerfully. They were sitting and eating at recess. For once, it wasn't pouring it down. That would probably change later on. Nessie had been daydreaming until being jerked out of it by Melissa. "My parents were being annoying, so I tried to return the favour."

Nessie blinked. "…How does that work?"

Melissa laughed at her, as did Jackson. "You can tell she's never been a true rebel."

"Do you think so?" frowned Nessie. "Why?"

"Because," Melissa began. "You don't know how families -or, as I like to call them, dysfunction junctions -work. You have a nice home, yeah?"

"I guess," Nessie muttered. She brightened slightly. "I'm living with my boyfriend at the moment."

She gave her a look. "Really? I thought that was just a rumour. I don't picture you as the run-off-and-live-with-the-boyfriend type."

"My family's fine with it." _Sort of not really_. She ignored the pang of pain and focused on the conversation.

Melissa stared. "I wish I had your family." She tossed her now-blue hair. "How it works in my family is that I decide I want to do something like plan the tattoo I'm going to get for my eighteenth birthday, or die my hair a new and unusual colour. They tell me how I'm going to be ruined an how my life is never going to work out if I keep rebelling like that, so I do it all the sooner. I now have tigers posted up all over the house."

"Why? Is that the tattoo you want?" Nessie asked.

"Yeah. A really big one, all across my back. They recommend you do that anyway, have a few pictures of the tattoo you want in a few different places so you see it every day, and if you're not sick of it after a few months, then get it done."

"But don't you… Get upset?" Nessie felt awkward asking it. She didn't know how to ask if she was the only one that felt like her stomach was being punched when she hurt another person.

"Yeah, and they know it," Melissa scoffed. "They cause it." She sighed. "It used to be worse, but I guess I'm kind of growing up and they're kind of accepting that I'm never going to be the straight As, girl next door, medical student kind of person."

"How did you make them accept that?" Nessie asked softly.

"You said before you've always been home schooled, right?" Nessie nodded. "Not a good idea if you want alone time. The way you make them accept it is by making them see you're not who they think you are, and keep proving it until they get it. If that takes tears and tantrums, so be it."

Jackson laughed, shaking his head. "You're going to make her into a real rebel. Soon she'll have a million lip rings and always listen to heavy metal, like David here." David was still wearing the earphones with no music, staring off into the distance. Jackson slapped him on the shoulder.

"What?" said David.

Jackson shook his head, looked at Nessie. "You don't have to be like Melissa, if you don't want to. Just talk to them if you have a problem. Me and my parents are usually pretty cool. They try to be pretty open and respect boundaries. We argue, sometimes, but it's no big deal. They're family, you know?"

"I don't usually disagree with mine," Nessie said softly. "But a few weeks ago I had the worst argument I've ever had with… Anyone."

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Melissa disagreed. "Just give it a few days and let things cool down. Then you'll see that it'll all work out fine."

"Maybe," replied Nessie softly. She looked at David. "David? How about you? Do you have problems with your family?"

It took a few more tries to get David's attention. He shrugged. "Both my parents are doctors. They're always working. We don't really get time to disagree. I get annoyed with my little brother because he's always coming into my room and asking me stuff, but I just tell him to get out."

The bell rang then, before Nessie could ask them anything else. She was surprised about how other people live. How could they have disagreements with people they lived with? How could they stand it? Was she really that sheltered?

Nessie had enough time before maths to grab her book from her locker. There was another note.

_I want you to make me into a vampire, just like you_.

A pang of pain ran through Nessie. She grit her teeth. She had to do something about this. But what? The motorbike belonged to Allison. She had seen the girl riding it to and from school. Nessie didn't want to confront Allison, but it looked like that was the only option available. There was nothing else she could do but confront her.

Mrs Richards tried to ask Nessie a lot of questions because she kept zoning out, and because she was usually enthusiastic about coming up with the answers to the mathematical problems, but today she was distracted. The teacher showed signs of wanting to speak with Nessie when she got up to leave, but Nessie had spent the last hour steeling herself up to speak with one person, and she was going to find her. She had human biology next, but Allison wasn't inside. She followed the scent. It was easier the second time she did it. Allison was in an empty classroom, talking on her phone again.

"I'm in school, mother, you can't… No, I'm still not riding my motorbike." This was a lie. Nessie had seen it in the car lot. "I can take care of myself. No, I'm not coming back this weekend. Because there's a test next week in human biology and I want to study. You're the one who said my results weren't up to scratch." Another lie. They didn't have another test for a few weeks. Another way to deal with other people? But lying seemed wrong. It would be impossible in their house. And, for Nessie, it was almost impossible anyway, even without the mind-reading father. But, just for a moment, the prospect did seem attractive. "I have a class now; see you." She hung up, turned and jumped when she saw Nessie waiting quietly in the same class. "What the hell are you doing listening to my phone call?"

"I have a question to ask you." Nessie wanted to get this over as fast and as painlessly as possible, like ripping off a bandaid was supposed to be. But she floundered. "Did you, uh… That is-"

"What? Do you want us to be late?" Allison snapped.

"Did you put those notes in my locker?" The words came out fast and almost prey-like. Nessie hated how they sounded; faster because of Allison's prompting. She wanted to feel like she was in control. Lately, she hadn't been.

Allison snorted. "No."

"I know you did," Nessie said determinately. "I found it in your bike."

"You went through my bike? You know the compartment's, like, broken now, right? You're lucky I don't make you pay for it."

_Good luck proving I did it_. But Nessie wouldn't say something like that. Just think it. "So you did?"

Allison tossed her hair. "Look, I just got emails demanding I write and put them there or they'd tell my mother I still use my motorbike. She knows anyway, but I did it for, like, a joke. I mean, you don't really think you're a vampire do you?"

"No," Nessie contradicted. But her response was too fast and too enthusiastic. Allison's eyes widened.

"Oh my god, you do," she laughed. "That's freaking hilarious… We need to get to human bio, vampire girl. We're already late."

Nessie turned, almost rushed into class. By the end of the day, she was hearing 'vampire chick' from everywhere, and two people asked her if she really thought she was one. She couldn't stay the whole day; at lunch she decided that, stuff it, she was going home. Without telling anyone she ran home. Her head was filled with violent thoughts. Her anger made her direct it at Allison, wondering what would happen if she proved that she was a vampire, if she smashed the girl's motorbike, if she bit her and felt the last of her life leaving her body. That would teach her. But these were bad thoughts, evil thoughts… Nessie wanted to scream with how they simultaneously made her feel more and angry and more desperate. She ploughed through trees, ripping them up and throwing them down. She went to the most secure part of the forest and let out a long, loud scream. She swam to the bottom of a small lake and cried for a while before surfacing. Eventually, she went home late, when it was dark, cold and soaking from her exertions. On top of that, it had begun to rain.

She got home, opened the door. Jacob was standing in the front room, worry inscribed on his face. "Nessie, I went to the school and you weren't there. What happened?" He looked at her. "Are you alright?" She began walking past him, shaking her head. "Nessie, stop, you're soaking wet. _Nessie_."

"Please, Jacob, just let me be alone for now."

She went to her room, shut the door and didn't come out. Now, on top of everything else, she had hurt Jacob. Everything had been good before. She'd had Jacob, her family, and she had always felt safe. Now she was alienating him, hurting her family, and being hurt at school. Almost everyone hated her somehow and, damn it, she hated them all, just a little bit. She just wanted to destroy everything around her for the sake of those few, precious moments when she was in control of something, _anything_.

But how far would that go? How long before she, herself, became a monster that had to be destroyed?


	11. The Camping Trip

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life. Life, Meet Nessie**

**Chapter Eleven**

The Camping Trip

"Okay, let's get this straight once and for all!" Jackson announced, holding up his hands. He wore a black T-shirt with a dalek on it. He pointed to it, quite seriously. "_This_… _This_ is a great monster."

"It's an upside-down pepper shaker with alfoil on it, holding an eggbeater."

"I second that motion!" Melissa exclaimed. Her hair was still blue. The four of them, Nessie included, were in the small bunker that belonged to Melissa's father. Nessie had left Jacob a note telling him where she would be the night before, aware that he might do something drastic if she suddenly disappeared. "All that agree that daleks are upside-down, pimped-up pepper shakers, say I! I!"

"I," said David, raising his hand a little. They looked at Nessie.

"Um… I... I guess..." she shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on, Nessie, more enthusiasm than that," scolded Melissa.

"I!" Nessie tried with more energy.

"Better. There, that's three to one. Outvoted."

"At least they don't look like people who just whacked random bits of plasticine on their faces, like in Star Trek, or that have been messing around with the face paint, like in Star Wars."

Melissa pointed to the door. "Get out of this cabin."

"Star Wars villains do not look like they have face paint."

"Oh, yeah, Palpatine looks like he's been plasticined-up too."

"Another vote. Who says Jackson should be kicked out? I!"

"I!" Melissa contributed this time. They looked at Nessie.

"I wouldn't go that far," Nessie shrugged. They'd made her watch a bit of old and new Doctor Who, an episode of Star Trek and the first Star Wars movie. They'd been there all day and it was snowing outside, having begun somewhere around one o'clock, when they're taken a break for a lunch of hot chocolate, some chips and microwave popcorn. "It's a bit cold there now."

"You're no fun," said Melissa, rolling her eyes and throwing a bit of popcorn at Nessie, who caught it with her mouth. They had practised throwing up popcorn before and catching it, but only Nessie had real talent with this little game. She was, as Jackson called her, a 'food ninja.' "You may be a ninja of food, but you are no fun."

"It's all the ninja training," Jackson said. "It drills it out of you."

"Like you would know."

"Dude, I am totally a ninja."

"Sure you are." Melissa sighed, standing. "I'll be back in a sec."

"Where are you going?" asked David.

"Bathroom."

David nodded, glancing at Nessie, then looking down again. Nessie looked outside at the snow. "The snow is pretty here."

"What?"

"The snow. It's pretty here." She glanced at the others, blushed when she caught their strange looks. She used to remark on the snow a lot. Her mother always thought it was ugly, but she never took the time to see the little intricacies in every snowflake. Her life as a human had conditioned her out of appreciating it. But Nessie loved it. Her father had pointed out the beauty of every flake to her, and she'd never forgotten. She always watched the snow, and here it was even more beautiful than back home. Something to do with the weather, maybe…

But thinking of her parents made a painful pang go through her chest. She suddenly felt, for a moment, like she couldn't breathe. She knew this was ridiculous. Technically she didn't need to, most of the time, only when she had run really far or exercised a lot.

"Back soon," she said, standing and almost running out of the room. Jackson stood, opening his mouth to ask something, but David stopped him. She was grateful to David. He, above all others, must have recognised her need for isolation. That was what he achieved when he put the silent earphones in, sat back and listened to nothing. It was a way to be alone. Nessie felt smothered by people, trapped with them. She went into the hallway. The door directly in front of her led outside, whereas the others, further down the corridor, led to the two bedrooms, one for the girls and one for the guys. She hesitated. _Escape or retreat?_ For now, retreat. She went to the girls' bedroom, lay on the bed and hid her head under the pillow, trying to tune every sound out. She didn't know how long she lay here. When Nessie successfully tuned out every sound, every thought, she could lie in a white, static space of nothing for hours which felt like minutes, or minutes which felt like hours. She was the only one who could do it in her family, completely tune out everything so that it was a kind of meditation. Eventually she took the pillow off her head, straightened. Something was different. It took a moment of her listening to realise what it was.

David and Jackson were still there. But Melissa wasn't. She straightened, listening harder. No, the girl definitely was no longer in the house. But it was practically a blizzard outside, so strong they'd considered not coming, had only decided to because it was the last weekend they could for a while.

Nessie opened her door and entered the main part of the little hut. Jackson and David turned to her sharply, like they were expecting her. They were relieved for a moment, but then their expresses changed. Both scanned for someone behind her.

"Where's Melissa?" David asked.

"I was going to ask you the same thing."

"She went out looking for you."

"I was in the room."

They both looked worried. "But that means…"

Nessie looked outside. "No. No, she's not out there in this…" The wind howled particularly loud, as if to emphasise her words.

"This isn't good," muttered Jackson. "We need to find her." He stood, getting the heavy clothes he'd brought and heading outside.

"Don't go too far," Nessie ordered.

Jackson looked at her. Her tone was sharper than he'd ever heard it. "I won't." He left and began walking away. Nessie listened to him carefully before turning to David.

"Why did she go out therein the first place? Why did she think I went out, without checking the rooms?"

"I think Jackson told her you were out there," he said, frowning.

"But why would he…" Nessie drew off. Jackson's footsteps were fading and, despite what she'd said, he was going further from the house.

Who had been eager to keep her company all this time? Who was the person who had invited her places, and had watched her, occasionally, with a strange expression? The answer was Jackson. Who cared enough to watch her as she destroyed things? Jackson again. The spot she'd picked to destroy was comparatively near the cabin they were in there, and who had spent time there a lot? Jackson again. Jackson knew where her locker was. He could probably even get her number. Nessie felt her gorge rise. The world was tipping over as she realised that the sweet, boyish Jackson wanted to… He was trying to…

She blinked, her mouth hardening into a long line. No time for that now. She turned, went outside, ignoring David's calls. "Jackson!" She went up to him, beckoning him to come back. He did, coming back into the house with her. "You have Mel's number?" He nodded. "Good call her. If I'm not back in an hour, call emergency services."

"Why, where are you-"

She turned, left the house faster than they could move but not so much that it would have seemed inhuman and shut the door. Lightning-fast she jammed a stick in the door so they wouldn't be able to follow her, making sure they would think the door was just sticking. She walked away, hearing them calling after her as she moved out into the freezing blizzard. They'd thought they'd be alright. They didn't count on the traitor in their midst.

_No time to think of that now._

The snow had eliminated Melissa's footsteps. Her scent was difficult to find and Nessie kept losing it was she wandered down a path. But she would find Mel. She would find her because she had to.

Exactly an hour and a half after Nessie had headed off into the woods there was a cracking sound which came from the door of the little hut. Jackson and David both started, turning. The door opened, and someone carrying someone else came through. Nessie, covered in snow, looking as grim and as wild as they'd ever seen her, carrying Melissa. She set her on the couch. It was another few minutes before the emergency services arrived, right on Nessie's tail. She'd heard then, known she had to run faster. When they came, they made sure to warm Melissa up. The girl was cold, far colder than she should be. They took her away, wanted to take Nessie too, but she insisted on being alright. Eventually they left with just Mel. Jackson began driving them home as they all sat in grim silence, Mel's bag packed along with theirs. Nessie had made sure that none of the other girl's things would be left behind. Nessie didn't speak a word. David listened to nothing. Jackson tried to start a reassuring conversation a few times, but neither of the others responded, so he gave up, and the drove in silence. Nessie went home for a minute, dropping her things in the doorway before going for a run. She ran to the most isolated place she could and let loose.

After a while she stopped. Around her, there was a ring of destruction. She had broken everything she could, utterly obliterated that little space. Time to go home. She hesitated outside of hearing range. She could hear slightly better than Jacob, and something made her stop and listen now.

"…Yes, Alice, I know you said you saw that, you've _told_ me. But the girl is fine. I called up the hospital… Nessie is fine too. She just runs sometimes."

"_She's not fine, Jacob. I don't believe that and neither do you. If you had, you wouldn't have called me._" Alice's voice, Aunt Alice, was coming through the phone.

"You're not near her parents, are you? I know they get upset when Nessie is angry or sad…"

"_No. I won't bring this to them unless I need to._"

"Good." Jacob seemed distracted. "I just.. She's not ready for this. I want to take her out of school. If everyone comes and talks to her, she can't say no. I'm… I'm getting desperate, Alice. She'd hurting and I can't do anything."

"_Then maybe you should_…" Alice stopped, gasping a little. Jacob heard it too. It was the sound of a small, furious and, at the same time, desperately sad exclamation. "_Nessie? Is that you_?"

"Everyone," whispered Nessie as Jacob exited, holding his mobile as he looked outside. "Everyone is trying to trap me. Everyone I thought cared."

"Nessie," sighed Jacob, stepping towards her. This was the final straw. She let out a sob and turned, fleeing again. Jacob tried running after her, Alice calling her niece's name, but neither of them made an impact.

Nessie was gone.


	12. I'm Sorry, I'm So Sorry

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

**Chapter Twelve**

I'm Sorry. I'm So Sorry.

They'd kept Mel in hospital for a few days, ensuring that there had been no complications. To Nessie's great relief, no lasting harm had been done. She'd ended up with a head cold and a lingering ache in her fingers and toes which faded after the fourth day. Nessie had gone straight to her hospital bed and stayed there, the first night, until they'd told her that visiting hours were over. She'd softly acquiesced, leaving, unsure of where to go. The house, her room, had quickly become her home, her sanctuary, after leaving the Cullen family house. Now she couldn't go back -Jacob would take her back to her family. She loved them, but everything was ruined. They would look at her differently, with colder eyes. Her grandparents... Carlisle would no longer worry whenever she seemed to be catching a human cold. He would ignore her. Esme, her namesake, would no longer greet her so warmly, her heart so prominently on her sleeve. Rosalie's proud spoiling would end; Emmett's gentle teasing either halt or grow unbearably awkward. Alice would see her in visions and not care. Worst still, Jasper would feel her pain and not particularly feel compelled to do much at all. Excruciatingly, Edward would be able to read every thought of pain, everything she did, all her shame like a book he couldn't physically put down. And Bella... Bella would blame herself. And that would be worst of all.

Nessie tried not to think of them. Or of Jacob, who was probably wishing they'd never come out, waiting for the opportunity to take her back home and try to change her back. But Nessie couldn't change back to what she had been. She had been sheltered, and this was the result. Sometimes she felt angry at her upbringing. But all they'd done was love her. Everything else was her fault. All these thoughts burned through her mind unless she had a distraction. Like school. Or Mel.

Mel was amazing. Nessie had been so wrapped up in her own problems in school that she hadn't realised quite what a treasure Mel was. She knew everything about all the old movies, which was good, because so did Nessie. Having a romantic mother and a father who... In any case, she had watched a lot of old movies. They talked about their favourites. Mel had a musical streak in her that came from having a mother who used to be a singing teacher. She knew everything from _Cabaret_ to _Hello Dolly! _to _Forty-Second Street_ and _South Pacific_. They could talk for hours about their favourites, even sang a few numbers to the delight of the staff. Nessie's voice wasn't bad, but Mel had a surprisingly good musical quality to hers. But, eventually, Nessie always had to leave at closing time.

She usually went to the forest, where the bad thoughts would plague her again. She fell into that odd half-sleeping state only she could do, stayed there until morning, where she would eat something and go to school.

School. The 'vampire girl' taunts hadn't died down. She suspected they never would. Allison had got bored with her, thank goodness.

By the time they let Mel go at the fourth night after the incident, she had gauged that there was something wrong. Nessie didn't know how; she'd been trying to keep smiling for her. On the day they let her out, Nessie came into the room, and Mel wasn't there. The nurse directed her to the waiting room, where she arrived just in time to see Mel's parents making a beeline for their daughter. She had always vacated the room when they came in. She did this now, turning around, but not in time to avoid Mel seeing her. The girl asked her parents to wait and ran after her. "Nessie!"

Nessie stopped, turned, almost shyly. "Hey, Mel. It's okay, go home with your parents. I don't want you to lose time with them because of me."

"It's okay; they'll wait for me there. Dad feels guilty about letting me go to the mountain shack, and mum tries to comfort him."

In a small voice, Nessie said, "_he_ feels guilty?"

Mel frowned. "Don't. Seriously, just don't say it. Is that what's been eating you all this time? You feel bad about dragging us all up there?"

"You should talk about the forest animals about things eating them." Nessie shut her mouth and went a furious red. _Mouth, hey, I'm the brain. Shut up_!

Mel laughed. "Yeah, I've heard there's been some weird mountain lion or wolf activity lately. Guess I'm lucky, you know, comparatively." Nessie was silent, looked away. "Nessie, stop it. Seriously."

She looked up. "I just wanted to say I'm so-"

"Shut. Up. You helped me. Unless you're apologising for that, stop it." She frowned. "And if you are then it's not exactly a compliment."

Nessie didn't know what to say. She felt absurdly grateful to Mel. Spontaneously, she hugged her. "I'm so glad you're my friend, Mel." The words were muffled in Mel's coat.

"Stop it, people are staring," she muttered.

Nessie gave a small laugh as she drew back. "I wouldn't expect you to care about that. Your hair's still blue, after all."

"Yeah, but you've got to have standards." She shrugged. "Look, I don't know if it's just that which is upsetting you or whatever and I'm not going to ask awkward questions, but if you need to tell someone, I'm here. I mean, you pretty much come all the time, after rescuing me in the first place."

"Yeah," Nessie mumbled, looking away. She'd had nowhere else to go. It had been her fault in the first place. There was nothing Mel should have been grateful for.

"Hey, do you want to come over tonight?"

Nessie looked up, surprised. "Your first night home? Don't you want to spend it with your family?"

"Dude, I see enough of them as it is. Seriously, come over. Sleep over, if you want."

Nessie smiled. A night where she didn't have to go asleep alone in the forest, uncomfortable and trapped by her own thoughts? "I'd like that."

"Awesome. Come on, I'll introduce you to my parents. You always disappear when they come to visit…"

Mel's parents were nice, much nicer than she'd expected. Perhaps it was because Mel said Nessie rescued her, but for whatever reason they were happy to have her stay, insisted she call them Jacques and Marie-Lou. Jacques was a businessman, but so friendly she couldn't imagine him in a suit. Her mother was the same.

They stayed up talking about their lives, but Mel must have slipped them a word that things weren't all good at Nessie's place, so they steered clear of the subject. She slept in a spare room in a comfortable bed the first time, and had been grateful. Stupidly, she'd confided that she was having boyfriend trouble as well as family trouble, and Mel compulsively invited her to stay with them until it all blowed over, her parents conceding when she pressured them. What could Nessie do but accept?

Then, a week and a half later, when she thought it had stopped, she opened her locker and felt a sick sensation surge in her stomach. There was a small, precisely folded piece of paper. She picked it up with trembling fingers and opened it. The handwriting wasn't the same as it had been last time. She immediately saw the differences with her enhanced vision. This wasn't Allison. This was the real person.

_Dear Renesmee,_

_I know what you are. I don't want to have to threaten you, because I really like you. After you change me, I want to get to know you better, if there's any way you can forgive for the bad way I'm approaching all of this. I know I'm scaring you by writing these notes, but I don't know what else to do. Please, just keep an open mind while I explain the situation._

_You and I are both alone. I can see it in your eyes. You're different from the others, special, and not just because you're a vampire. There's something beautiful about your heart, Renesmee. It gives me hope, and I didn't realise how lost I was until I saw you. I don't belong here. Neither do you. But maybe, if we just talked, we'd find something to help us both. Even if you just want to be friends, I just want to feel like I have someone else I can rely on. _

_Meet me tomorrow night in the gym. I won't do anything, I swear. You could probably beat me up anyway, but I won't even try it. I just want to talk to you. You'll make me a vampire when you hear my side of things. I promise you will._

_Love,_

_A Friend._

The quiet desperation in the letter tugged at Nessie's heart. It was a recognised pain. She felt it every day. The need for someone to understand. Jacob had been that person. But she had ruined that. He came to the school sometimes, people talked about it in hushed tones. The angry-looking boyfriend of quiet Nessie. He would get over her eventually.

She raised the letter, close enough to smell, turning into the locker so she wouldn't be seen. No scent. They'd worn gloves, presumably so she wouldn't seek them out before they were ready to try and persuade her.

Jackson. She was trying to forget that there was no more anonymity. She didn't think he didn't belong. In fact, he seemed to fit right in everywhere he tried. Unlike her. He'd even managed to make her feel like she fit in for a little while, before she realised what that smile was hiding. She hadn't been talking to him lately. He'd tried, but she just smiled and responded with vague or half-hearted answers. After a couple of days he stopped trying. She stuck to Mel like glue. She could see that she was beginning to irritate the girl, so she did what she'd begun to do when she first started school. About half the time, she spent in the library.

"Mel," she began as the other girl drove her home. She was impressed that Mel had gotten her licence already. "I'm going to try and find somewhere else, so I don't want you to think-"

Mel swore and they almost swerved. She straightened the car and kept going. "What the hell? Where did this come from?"

"Because I don't want to be like that stalker you can't get rid of!"

Despite everything, Mel laughed. "God, Nessie, you have a great way of saying stuff. You're not a stalker. Just a bit clingy, but that's to be expected."

"I know, I'm sorry-"

"I told you, stop apologising. None of this is your fault. David already said he was sorry about the whole cabin thing, and he was really guilty about that."

Nessie was silent for a moment. Cautiously, she said, "David?"

"Yeah. Guy that hangs with us, always listens to music?"

"Yeah, but he said it was Jackson that told you I was outside."

She frowned. "No-o, definitely David. He apologised and everything. Jackson was watching the film while we were at the doorway. He thought the conditions were better than they were."

Nessie's world was slowly coming apart for the umpteenth time. People she loved, she pushed away. People she trusted, betrayed her. People she thought she couldn't trust were innocent.

"Hey, Nessie? We're here. My parents are making spaghetti tonight. Hope you like Italian."

She made herself smile. "Love it." Almost all her answers were two-words for the rest of the evening. Late, she ambushed Mel while they were doing the dishes together, a chore Nessie insisted on helping out with. "Can I ask," Nessie began carefully. "Is David alright?"

"Oh, yeah, best as he can be. He has some trouble at home, but everyone does."

"He seems to be always in his own world," Nessie said on a whim.

Mel hesitated. "David… He's always been that kid who believed in the fairies, you know? I keep telling him he should be a writer, he can think up the best stories, but he has zero confidence in his abilities. He's always been a loner, I guess. I mean, he's our friend, but he's always been a loner."

Nessie couldn't breathe. She could go without it, but she found herself unable to take any breath in. "Does he go out to the cabin a lot?"

"Yeah, actually," Mel said, sounding slightly surprised. "He's there all the time. I tell him when Dad's away and he goes up there to get some time alone. Like I said, he's a loner. Pretty good at English notes, though, I borrow his all the time."

"Really?" Nessie interjected a false enthusiasm into her tone. "I think I might be behind in English, so that's a really good thing… Unless you don't have them here-"

"I borrowed them a week ago. And still have them." She smiled sheepishly. "I borrow them more or less permanently. If he needs them, he asks for them back, but he's a genius so he never does. Works out for us mortals."

Nessie did a very fake-sounding laugh. Mel gave her an odd look. Nessie put on a very serious face. "I'm very dedicated to being mortal."

Mel laughed. "I'll get the notes if you finish this." Nessie stayed there, elbow-deep in hot water and dishes. When Mel returned a few minutes later, they were done. "Whoa, you work fast… There on the table after you've dried your hands."

She deliberately put in this reminder before going into the next room to ask her parents about a tattoo again. She seemed to like bringing this up around Nessie and embarrassing them. It always worked. Nessie meticulously cleaned water from her hands, much slower than she needed to in an effort to delay the inevitable. She picked up the notes and flicked through them. The handwriting was different. A rush of relief. She looked closer, felt a sinking feeling. She drew out the note and compared them. The handwriting was different, but Nessie's enhanced vision made her realise it was a very deliberate kind of difference. At the core, they were the same. From the same hand. It was David, who'd been so friendly to her all week. A few times he'd even put on music and sat, listening to it, with her. She'd been so grateful.

"I can't do this any more."

David needed her. She had seen the desperate isolation he was immersed in ever since she first came to school and had done nothing. But he'd become her second-favourite person after Mel to be with. She couldn't look in his eyes and tell that not only could she not make him a vampire, but also that he might be in danger because he knew about them.

"I can't do this…"

Nessie didn't want David to be a vampire. He was fine as a human. He was her friend. Or had tried to be. Even as the thought occurred to her, the sign-off line from the letter made her feel ill.

"I can't…"

_I'm sorry, mum, dad, everyone back home. I'm sorry Alice, because I know you'll see what I'm going to do. I'm sorry, Mel, because you'll feel guilty, and David, because I could do nothing for you, and Jackson, because I blamed you, and even Mason, because ever since you've got back I've been this thundercloud in your group. I'm sorry, Mrs Richards, because you were always so nice._

"I…"

_I'm so sorry, Jacob._

Nessie did was Nessie was good at doing.

She ran.


	13. The Arms of Forgiveness

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

Chapter Thirteen

The Arms of Forgiveness

Renesmee was never going to run forever. She needed time to think. So, think she did.

The sound of snapping twigs and forest life springing or flying out of her way was music to Nessie's ear. She had become attuned to it, taking the sounds, smells, sensations of the forest deep inside her. She knew that she loved the wilderness, always would. She'd never explored it the way she was now. Never before had she run so far, so fast as she did then. She explored all of America, diving into the heavy forest lands where dangerous animals still warned hunters away. She went up into Canada, explored there. Then she went the opposite way, feeling the heat of Southern America, seeing the poverty when she dared travel out of the forest lands but, for most of the time, keeping her company with the creatures who she dined off.

There, in the quiet and solitude, Nessie recovered. She was able to take time and think about what had happened after a long period of not thinking on it.

She was not a world-wise girl. She knew that. She had suffered because other people were petty and selfish. She knew that too. But those people had been hurt in some way. Out, in the forest, she watched mountain lions devouring smaller beast. But the lion would die if they didn't. And the beasts they devoured in turn ate smaller insects or even birds and fish. She was not to blame for some things. For others, she definitely was.

All of this exploration and discovery took almost a month and a half to complete. She was still upset. She still felt a wrench in her gut when she thought of her family and of the people she'd disappointed. But, by the time that Nessie decided to try and face it all again, she felt that she at least knew what she was up against. Life may have been terrifying and complicated, but she could not avoid it. And then time alone without even… No. There was to be no more avoiding names. Time without even Jacob to comfort her made her realise just how much she loved the complications. There were happy times and love to be felt, and laughs to be had. She wasn't going to miss that forever.

She had done the smart thing and taken her phone, and she had done the stupid thing and forgotten her charger. It wasn't too difficult to go back into mainland America, find someone with the same make and use their charger while they were out. While this was happening, Nessie checked her phone. Sure enough, there were almost a hundred missed calls. Twenty from Mel's family phone, another ten from Mel's mobile. Another few dozen from people at school, from the school itself. Several dozen from Jacob. The rest were from her family. Even they had been trying to contact her, even though they knew how hopeless it would be. She listened to the voicemail, going to a small park when her phone was sufficiently charged and just listening to them all, one after another after another. Everyone asking how she was. If she was alright. That she could come to them if need be.

"_Please, please come back, Nessie._"

Jacob's earnest, heartbroken voice tugged at her. She wanted to go back to him. She wanted Jacob. Why had he gone behind her back like that? Because he was worried. Did that make it alright? No. Yes. She didn't know. She needed to talk to Jacob. Instead she'd run, making everything worse.

"_Nessie? Hi, this is David, I just wanted to check if you're okay. Call me if you need me._"

_Oh, no_.

"_Hey, Nessie, it's David again. I know I called a little while ago, but there's something I really need to talk to you about. Please, call me. I know you've got a lot of stuff going on, but I want to help."_

Nessie curled up in a small ball, but listened to the next one, almost automatically.

"_Nessie, I'm getting really worried about you, everyone is. Please come back._"

"_Nessie, I… I want to help you. And… I need your help._" His voice was quiet, earnest. "_God, Nessie, I need your help._"

"_Those notes were me. I know you're going to hate me for it. I know they disturbed you, and I probably should have stopped. But I couldn't. I… I'm trying to reach out to you here, Nessie, 'cause you're the only one I think can understand. Please call me._"

"_Please, make me like you Nessie. I saw what you are. You're so… You're so beautiful. And nice all the time. But you're so alone. I want to be your friend. If anything else develops, fine, but I just need someone like you… Shit._"

"_Don't leave me alone here, Nessie. Don't leave me here alone. I can't do this alone._"

Nessie was crying now, the tears pouring down her face. Her throat constricted as she tried to sob quietly. Her despair pushed her, though, forced the sad sounds out of her, and she couldn't stop them.

"_I… I don't know why I'm leaving this message. I don't think you're listening to them. That's okay. Wherever you are, you're happy, I guess. I'm just telling you this because maybe, someone will understand. If I have to be alone, Nessie… Well, I'm just not going to do this any more. I can't._"

The next one wasn't from David. Nessie had made the decision to face this. She had decided, damn it, that this life was worth going back to. She had discovered that will inside herself and it was _not_ leaving her now. She pressed the button to listen to the next, most recent, final message.

"_Hello? Renesmee, this is David's mother._" A clearing of the throat.

"God, no," muttered Nessie.

"_Your number was on his phone. He dialled it quite a bit, and I'm sorry if he's been scaring you. It's also been found out that he sent you obsessive notes. Despite all this, I'm calling because he would have wanted…_" A sniff. A choking back of tears. "_He thought he could confide in you, so he would want you to be there… He killed himself. His funeral in four o'clock in the Church, not far from the school, on Friday. If you get this, please come back._" She wasn't trying now. The mother of the boy who had killed himself was allowing herself to sound as heartbroken as she felt. "_Nobody blames you, if that's why you're away. But he would have wanted you to be there for his funeral_." She could speak no more.

Nessie stayed there for several minutes, staring at the phone. She couldn't think, not at first, but then thoughts gradually began trickling through her stunned mental landscape.

Of course, this was her fault. Nobody blamed her, to their credit, but she had done this. But, for the first time, she clenched her fists and refused to wallow in her own guilt. She'd been doing enough of that. She would not sit there while the boy that had died because of her was laid to rest by those who loved him. It was nine o'clock on Friday. She would have to be fast. But Nessie had a lot of practise in running. For the first time, she put it to good use.

The sound and smells of the forests were like friends she'd come to love. Comforting. Familiar. Even if there was a new hole torn inside her heart, she would fill it with love and laughter. She made a new pledge as she ran.

First of all, she would never let this happen again. She would never let a situation get so out of hand that it became this.

Second of all, she wouldn't face it if she wasn't ready for it. She knew she couldn't handle her family yet, couldn't handle trying to explain everything to them. She still felt they would hate her, although logically she knew that was stupid and incorrect. They loved her, she loved them, but she couldn't handle them just yet.

Third of all, she would someday make amends for everything she'd done wrong. If this was karma, she had to balance it out.

She ran, fleeing across forestry, swimming through lakes faster than the eye could blink, speeding through America to make it to the little town she'd loved and hated at the same time. At three thirty she took some clothes from her own wardrobe, thanking the heavens that Jacob wasn't there, made herself look somewhat presentable and arrived at the Church at three thirty. Behind it, there was a small graveyard. She crept out into the shadows, not letting the few people who were already there, including a slightly overweight woman who had the same eyes as Jacob, see her. She waited until people had come in, stood around watching the quiet tender of the Church as he cleared his throat. The mild chatter fell silent at the priest's shuffling of the pages in front of him, opening the small bible he had in front of him to the page he wanted.

"We are here not only to mourn the loss of a young man, whom we all loved very dearly, but also to celebrate the too-short life he had with his family and friends."

Mel was there, Nessie noted with a start. As were Jackson, Mason, Mel's parents, and a host of other people she'd come to know.

"David was always a quiet boy. He kept his feelings to himself, not allowing others to share his pain. He was a dreamer, a fantasy child and had great potential. He delighted those around him with his stories and tales. He was a loved boy, grew to be a loved man. He will be remembered. I now invite his mother to say a few words…"

The funeral went on. The tearful woman described a young boy who would always draw and write about dragons. Mel spoke about David, about all the time they'd spent together, and so did Jackson. She wanted to say something, but Nessie just couldn't think of anything that hadn't been said, that was still true. So she stayed and watched. They played the Star Wars anthem when they took his coffin out. Nessie smiled for the first time since she heard of his death. It was only after, when people had begun to filter away, that she stepped out of the trees. Faces dropped in surprise as they saw her, but she met nobody's eyes. Jackson was talking to David's mother. His jaw dropped as he saw her. The woman turned around.

"I'm so sorry," Nessie said to her earnestly in the complete silence. "It was a beautiful ceremony, and I thank you with all my heart for inviting me, even though I couldn't be there for David when he needed-"

The woman listened to no more, instead stepping forward and enclosing Nessie in a hug.

"Thankyou for coming," she whispered to the girl. The hug was one of the most powerful things Nessie had ever experienced. She'd felt fierce loyalty, love. But never had an embrace been so full of forgiveness. There, amongst people who welcomed her back with open arms, Nessie came to know what it felt like to have done something stupid, unforgivable, and been forgiven.

There was so much she didn't know, and learning all of them was impossible. Learning a lot of them would hurt her. But this was one lesson that Nessie didn't mind learning. She'd been arrogant, she decided. She'd only thought about how she felt. But, there, with those people who were so happy to have her safe, she felt something important. At that moment, she learned the feeling of complete selflessness.

And she liked it.


	14. This Is My Life

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

Chapter Fourteen

This Is My Life.

He was waiting for her in the house. She could hear him pacing tersely. Nessie realised, with a start, that Jacob couldn't hear her. Her senses were developing as she began relying on them more instead of the people around her. The knowledge gave her the strength to step forwards, feeling that she had the power to do this, to have this talk with Jacob. She knew the moment he heard her. He froze. The door under her palm, when she reached for it, was unlocked. Of course it was. She came inside. There, Jacob was waiting. Like he was always waiting. Eyes full of concern, a small twitch about the lips that betrayed just how happy he was to see her, and a warmth that she always forgot he possessed, radiating from him to encompass everyone and everything he wanted to.

She lasted a second before she propelled herself into his arms. "_Jacob,Imissedyousofreakingmuch!_" The words blurred together, muffled against his chest. His heart beat strongly. She inhaled, smelling the scent of his blood, always faintly disgusting, but lovable, because it was the thing that kept him alive.

"Nessie," he whispered, his breath soft against her hair. It was too much. She felt the sob rising in her, tried to choke it down. "Nessie, cry if you need to, I'm right here, if you need to feel hurt, feel hurt. I'll forgive you no matter what you do. No, it doesn't matter what you do, there'll be nothing to forgive. It's all okay with me, as long as you're here, with me."

So she did. Nessie cried all the tears of hurt which had begun building when she'd become the object of schoolyard bullying, when it had grown because of Daniel, when she'd thought she was hurting everyone, with the suicide, she cried and cried it all out.

At some point, she fell asleep against his chest. The next thing she knew she felt safe, depleted, but happy to be so because she was somewhere nobody could hurt her. She was in Jacob's arms.

"Jacob," she said, looking up at him. He started awake, looking at her. Like he couldn't believe she was there, he traced a finger across her face, smoothing her hair back.

"It's possible to lose the game," he murmured, like he was unaware he was doing it. He blinked, took a breath. "Nessie, I… Things happen. Things have happened. I… I'm sorry, I'm making a mess of this. But you have to know that I am here for you. You haven't done anything wrong, you-"

Nessie quietened him by kissing him boldly on the mouth. This time there were no parents to interrupt. Nessie took her time, blushing when she drew back, her smile irrepressible, though she was unable to meet Jacob's eye.

"Whoa," said Jacob, stunned.

"That should have been our first kiss," she mumbled, almost to herself, against Jacob's chest. Shyly, she looked up at him. There was a kind of pleasant shock in his eyes, as well as a glint of something which made her hide her face again.

Jacob laughed, making her look up again. While she was looking, he stole a kiss. This one lasted longer. Eventually he drew back. Nessie was glad she wasn't standing or she would have fallen. She settled in Jacob's arms and they stayed in silence for a while. Nessie reached up, gently, to Jacob's temples. She hesitated before she put her hands there. Before she showed him what had happened to her, in the way that only she could, broadcasting images straight into his mind, she said, "not all of it's happy."

"You're still a teenager, Nessie," he said softly. "Of course it's not. I bet a lot of it's crappy and confusing and you felt like you couldn't tell anyone."

She nodded.

"You can always tell me."

She laid her palms on his temple and shut her eyes, thinking over everything that had happened. After a minute Jacob sat up and held Nessie close. "I wish you'd told me you were going through all this. But I didn't tell you a lot either. Haven't done very well, have we?"

"I know, and I'm sick of it," Nessie said simply. "I want a vacation, Jacob." She grinned. "That's it!"

"What's what?" asked Jacob, confused again. "What?"

"A vacation! I need time with you. Away from everyone else. We'll go in a few weeks, because I still need to… To settle everything I left undone." She grew troubled again. Jacob held her that little bit tighter. "He committed suicide because of me, Jacob. That's going to hurt forever, I think."

"Some things should always affect you," he muttered. "But you can never let them stop you."

She smiled at him. "You're right, Jacob. I'm going to keep going forwards, even though right now I really don't want to, because you can't ever stop, not completely. I tried and it just made me miss you. So let's go forward together."

So they did.

A little girl came up to the small patch of forest that she had long-ago claimed as hers. She was about ten or eleven, with short-cropped hair. She wore good Church clothes. Her hair was thick and dark, her eyebrows larger than usual on a girl, and she was slender. She kneeled on the ground where she did every Sunday.

"Angela mia?" she whispered in Italian. _My angel?_ She came from the nearby village. It was a poor place in Italy, far away from the richer cities, but the girl didn't know that. She'd never been out of the village area. She wasn't bright, but she had a big heart. She reminded Nessie of herself so much it scared her.

Nessie carefully stepped out of her hiding place, smelling nobody with her. The first time she had come across the girl, she was crying by herself in the forest, and Nessie hadn't been able to leave her like that. She had paused, asked her in halting Italian, "vai bene?" _Are you alright?_ She had started, run. She'd come back with her older male cousins, but Nessie had hid. Something about the girl had stopped her leaving completely, as she should have. She waited until the others had gone and until the girl had investigated by herself later on before coming out. "Ciao. Io sono Nessie." _Hello. My name's Nessie_. Her father had taught her most European languages, so when she'd decided to leave America, it hadn't been so very difficult. The little girl had looked at her with wide, dark eyes full of the stars that shone overhead. It had been night, then.

"Sono Bennedetta," the little girl had replied breathlessly. I'm Benedetta. "Potresti sia… un'angela?" _Could you be... An angel?_

Immediately Nessie had stepped forward, waving her hands about, "no, no, non un'angela!" _No, no, I'm not an angel!_ Immediately, she batted her hand against a branch, causing it to whip back and smack her in the face. It didn't hurt, but caused her to get a very awkward expression on her face, which made the girl laugh. From then on, they had made it a regular thing.

Nessie stepped forward. It was daytime, so her skin had a very slight sheen to it. "Sempre te lo sto dicendo; non sono un'angela." _I'm always telling you, I'm not an angel_.

Benedetta smiled cheekily. "Quale perche` sei una bugiarda!" _That's because you're a liar!_

Nessie laughed, ruffled her hair. She sat beside her. "Come vanno i tuoi cugini?" _How are your cousins?_

The little girl was silent. Nessie sighed gently. The girl's cousins were very protective of her. She was the only girl in her family, so while the cousins were allowed to make weekend trips to the city with their parents, the girl was always kept at home with her grandmother.

"Voglio soltanto d'esplorare il mondo." _I only want to explore the world_. "Ci sono paesi che mi sento non vedro` mai!" _There are places I don't think I'll ever see_! Nessie hugged the girl, let her go and she went back home. She could only ever come for minutes at a time.

Nessie sighed, felt the warmth of the Italian sun on her face. Somehow, there were subtle differences of the warmth of different places. Different feelings. Australian, or South African summers were blistering hot and dry. European warmth, as she had discovered, was fresh and lively. American warmth was different still, depending on which part of the place she was in. But she hadn't been there in nine months. Add that time she'd spent in school and it had been almost a year since she'd seen her family.

"Alice?" she whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me, like always. Just checking in again. Tell everyone I'm safe and I miss them. Please tell them not to worry. _They_ still haven't bothered me."

_They_ were the Volturi. Bothered wasn't exactly what they'd been doing. A small sound alerted her to a creature approaching. Thoughtfully, she drifted over to the shape she knew was there, ran her fingers over the soft part of Jacob's head. He nipped at her fingers lightly, and she smiled.

"Yes, I'm moping again," she said laughingly. Jacob looked at her with liquid wolf eyes. "What about?" He nodded. "I like her. Benedetta, I mean."

Jacob let out a small growl.

"Yes, I know," frowned Nessie. "I haven't told her anything. Nor will I." Nessie sat down next to Jacob, hugged him absent-mindedly. "Have they come to you again?"

Jacob didn't move.

"They have, haven't they?" She sighed. "We could never stay here forever."

"No?" Both wolf and Nessie stiffened as a new voice entered the clearing. Nessie carefully stood up, knotting her fingers in Jacob's fur as the wolf began to growl, very lowly. From the shadows, a figure stepped out, one Nessie had not seen since she was a very small child. But she remembered every detail. The almost chalky skin. The eyes that looked like they shouldn't be seeing, but really captured every detail.

Nessie, taking courage from Jacob, quietly said, "hello, Aro."

Aro smiled. "Hello, Renesmee."

Nessie frowned, a flicker of familiar frustration making her speak out. "Nessie." She shut her mouth. With everything that had happened, she still couldn't keep her mouth shut.

Aro's smile just widened. "Hello, Nessie."

Her eyes flickered behind him. "Where are your… Friends?" She blushed, realising how awkward she sounded. "The ones who kept asking me to come see you, I mean." _Mouth, stop moving, brain, where the hell are you_!

"I thought they were scaring you so I decided to come say hello myself."

"Well, thankyou for the courtesy." _Oh, hello brain, so good to see you could make it_. "Is there anything particular you want to say?"

"Just hello. What are your parents up to?"

"The usual," she said, trying for cool and failing. "I think."

Aro latched onto this. "You think?" he asked. "You haven't seen them?"

"I'm on a vacation." Her nervous energy made the words filled with cheer. _Brain, you were here a second ago!_ "A long one. With Jacob."

Aro's eyes flickered downwards. "Speaking of which, could you make him stop that?"

Jacob stopped growling, still staring at him very pointedly.

"Did you have a disagreement?" asked Aro sympathetically. "That must be difficult with a family that's so close." He took a few steps closer. Jacob stiffened.

"Well, yes, sort of," Nessie murmured. "I mean, we are close, but we do… Disagree. On some things."

"Naturally. A growing girl, you must hunger for sustenance other than what they allow you to drink."

Nessie started. "You think this is about blood?"

"Of course. Although there might be other causes. Excuse me asking, but you all the way out here on your own like this, I do get concerned over you."

Nessie grit her jaw. Before she could stop herself she said, very quietly, "you have no right to be concerned over me."

Aro looked at her, raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

She hesitated, but her own need to tell the truth and nothing but the truth urged her to speak out. "I'm not alone, Mr Aro. I have Jacob. And though I respect what you and your people do, I don't want to be a part of it. We're too different. I am still a Cullen, no matter what. I am both my father's daughter and my mother's daughter. I thought I was similar to you before, but I was never hurting anyone." She gave a small, self-depreciating shrug. "If that makes me soft or a wimp or whatever, so be it. I'm all I can be, and that's never going to be anything like your group." She suddenly seemed to remember who she was talking to and looked back up to meet his eye. "That is- I don't want to be disrespectful-"

Aro was laughing, very slightly. Nessie quietened. Jacob was still tense against her knee. He looked up at her, smiling slightly. "Oh, yes, both your mother and father's daughter indeed. Your own person too. Do you know…" He hesitated, then continued. "Since you've been so honest with me… I came here with the intent to speak to you about the girl you've been seeing." Nessie froze. He was going to use Benedetta to blackmail her? But she hadn't even told her anything. "There's no need to panic, I've changed my mind. No, you would never fit in with 'my people', as you call them. But you're so talented. And… I like you." He gave her a look, then gave Jacob a look. "Don't stay too long, though. I'm not sure how long my good will lasts these days."

He turned, began walking away.

Automatically, in a small voice, Nessie said, "thankyou."

Aro stopped for a moment. "That's quite alright." He continued walking. Nessie didn't know it, but it had been a long, long time since someone had thanked Aro.

Benedetta was sleeping when a voice began whispering to her.

"Arrivederci, Benedetta." _Goodbye, Benedetta_. "Era cosi bella d'inconctrarti. Ma devo di lasciare. Ci sono personi che voglio di rivedere." _It was so nice tomeet you. __But there are people who I want to see again._ "Vivi la vita tuo."_ Live your life._ "Ami la vita tua." _Love your life. _"Perche` e` la _tua _vita." _Because it's_ your_ life_.

Benedetta muttered two words, half-awake by this time. "Arrividerci, angela."

_Goodbye, angel_.

Nessie was going home.


	15. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of its associated fictional characters or locations.

**Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie!**

Epilogue

The high school reunion had been daunting. Nessie hadn't seen many of her ex-student peers since the graduation five years previously. She had come alone this time, telling Jacob she wanted to see her old high school friends. He never took her requests for solitude to heart any more. He knew her well enough by now. Most of the time, she wanted nothing more than to be with him. But there were some times she needed to do things alone.

A few people she had cared about enough to keep contact over various social media forms and the phone. She never posted pictures of herself so, that way, even in ten years when she still hadn't changed, they wouldn't suspect a thing. She had put a lot of thought into it. There had been a time when she automatically cared, passionately and completely, about everyone, but that was gone now. Now, she cared, but there were few people who she grew to like and love enough to want to stay in touch with after she left wherever they were. These were few, and they generally drifted away from her anyway, but it had been so good to see them again, to see how they had changed, how they had stayed the same from when she'd last seen them graduate.

The very first thing she had done when she had come back was go straight home to the family house. The first ones to see her were, of course, Bella and Edward. They intercepted her on the way there. There was a moment where they saw each other and froze, Nessie and Jacob staring at Bella and Edward. Then Nessie gave up on composure and threw herself at her parents.

"I missed you." She said it over and over and over again. "I missed you, _why did I think I wouldn't_, I'm sorry about everything, I just needed time-"

Somehow they understood her stream of babble. And somehow, for some reason, they were saying back, "it's okay. We missed you, too. Are you alright? Don't apologise, it's okay."

They welcomed back Jacob, too. Even Edward was happy to see him. "Jacob. Have you been taking care of her?"

There was some pride in Jacob's face when he said, "she didn't need me to."

Edward smiled. "I know." He hesitated. "Have you been taking care of yourself?"

There was a moment of surprise. Then Jacob grinned. "I'm me. Of course I have."

"Jacob!" exclaimed Bella. Jacob looked at her, was surprised when she pulled him in for a hug. "You'd better have been taking care of both her _and _you."

He laughed. "I know. You could probably beat me up if I wasn't."

"No, no that's my job!" protested Nessie. She felt a light, bubbly feeling that she hadn't felt for a long time. Happiness. She was so happy to be with them again.

They walked together back home, to the house Nessie had partially grown up in. That big white house with all the open spaces, with all the history and all the laughter of three generations; her father, her mother and father, and finally her. They went there sometimes when they judged it safe, and now was a safe time. A good time. They were waiting for her, and Nessie could do nothing but hug them all close, feel the warmth that came from Esme and Carlisle, Emmett's strength, Rosalie's endless willingness to spoil, Jasper's quiet love and Alice's exuberant kindness. She'd forgotten how much she missed them all.

They all sat down and talked, talking for days straight about everything that had happened. Eventually, Nessie felt that she could talk no more. They had learned all about David and Jackson, about Allison, about the suicide and her need to destroy things. She'd told them about Aro. And about the little girl who had been the final straw in her decision to come back, because she was so much like Nessie herself, but at a different point in her life. When she was finished talking, there were a few blissful weeks where she stayed with them. She stayed until her birthday, celebrated that with the people she loved, before making the decision to go back to school.

She expected concern, caution, warnings, and she got some of that, but mostly what she received from her decision was support and well-wishes.

When Nessie went back, things had changed. She had missed too much, so she decided that, despite everything, she would be going down a year. All the friends she had made graduated before she did, but Nessie didn't have a problem with that. They had been concerned. Mel, especially, had been angry at her for weeks, ignoring Nessie's humble apologies until finally the half-vampire had almost been at tears trying to get Mel's forgiveness, at which point the other girl broke down too, saying, "you just left… I thought you might have done the same as David. Do you have any idea how that felt?"

At the reunion, Mel had been in and out of jobs. She was, at that time, a full-time hairdresser and a casual make-up artist, a lifestyle, which Mel cheerfully said, was "killing her." But she was so clearly happy Nessie couldn't help but not believe her.

Jackson had simply been relieved she was alright and, after a week or so, began treating her almost the same again. Almost, because, somewhere along the line, he seemed to have realised that Nessie had no intention of going out with him, and had adjusted himself to that. Nessie had also realised that he'd had feelings for her that had gone beyond friendship, but those were gone now. She was happy about it. It meant she didn't have to let him down.

At the reunion, he had been one of the more successful people in the room. He was a lawyer for both financially advantaged and for the financially disadvantaged people. Somehow, it didn't surprise Nessie that Jackson would be able to bridge such a big gap like that. He was just that kind of guy.

Mason never really got used to her. He was friendly, but when he looked at her, Nessie could see David's funeral in his eyes. She was sorry that it had to end like that, but that was okay. People reacted how they would react, and there wasn't much she could do about that. He turned out to be a tour guide for people hiking in the woods.

Allison was a surprise. She never really spoke to her after Nessie came back from her trip. Nessie had, in trepidation, expected some extremely slender, pointy woman with thick makeup and long nails at the reunion. She had seen it too much as she moved into her own job, the women who couldn't let things go, who couldn't let themselves go at the price of their mental wellbeing and happiness. But, instead, she had seen a chubby and much happier version of Allison. She spent the entire time bragging about her husband, who was a big-shot in the world of horse betting, about her child and complaining about all the pregnancy weight that just wouldn't come off. She didn't talk to Nessie and Nessie didn't talk to her. She was just happy to stay out of her way, and happy to see the other woman's life had worked out.

Nessie herself had, since returning from her trip, made up her mind about what she wanted to do. She wanted to reach out to people like David. Because, if she was perfectly honest with herself, she had been drifting closer and closer to the sea he'd been pulled under, that inner swamp of depression that was always ready to pull you down and never let you go. She made up her mind that, if she could help it, she would never let anyone drift that far down again. She went to Jacob's university and began studying. They never had any classes together, but they found other ways to catch up.

They found many ways.

Nessie had, very pointedly, had a conversation with her father one night over the phone.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Nessie?"

"Before you go, I just want to tell you something," she continued quite factually. This was one of the things she was no longer shy about, nor was she going to be afraid of talking about. "About me and Jacob."

"…Yes?" he said cautiously. Nessie knew Bella was in the background because she could hear her sudden intake of air. Alice was there too, because she gave a minute giggle in the background.

"At some point, we're going to have a sex life. Get over it. Try to keep out of me and Jacob's minds. You won't like it."

Edward made a choking noise. Bella cleared her throat. Nessie, although not sounding like it, was blushing madly. Jacob, who sat in the other room, fell off his chair. Alice roared with laughter in the background.

"Take care now," Nessie said brightly when they said nothing. She hung up. "That could have gone better…" She blinked. "Jacob, is anything wrong?"

He was looking, shocked, up at her from the ground. "Uh… Well… I…"

She grinned. "You're blushing."

"What? Well…You just gave your parents _the talk_…"

"Jacob… Are you blushing… Because of my muscles?" she blurted, reminding them both of a time before. At this, Jacob laughed.

"Yes. Yes, I am. They're just… So big. And there are so many of them!"

In the same way that it hadn't been all bad before, it wasn't all good now. She met people that disturbed her deeply, and she still felt things a lot more than she should have. She was still, despite everything, more trusting than others, an got hurt a lot. But she also had a lot of good times, and those far outweighed the bad.

Sometimes, she needed a few weeks by herself, without even Jacob for company. In those times, she ran across America, across the world if she needed to. She caused destruction, but the most live thing she would ever hurt was trees, and that was very rarely. A very sheltered life had made her an oddball, but she was alright with that.

Occasionally, she ran into the Volturi. She had yet to run into Aro again. They always sent his regards, and she always returned them.

In the end that wasn't actually an end, Nessie discovered the strength to want to live her life, and the strength to actually live it. She found out that she was good at a lot of things, but terrible at a lot of others. She felt pain. She felt love. She was awkward. She was confident. She was Renesmee. Nessie. Her mother's daughter, her father's daughter, Jacob's partner, a Cullen family member, a helper of those who needed it. A liver of life. A lover of life. Because, despite everything that had happened, was happening, and would happen, every day she got up, looked at the world around her and started the day with one thought.

_Hello, life. I'm Nessie. It's really great to see you._

**Author's Note:**

**And so ends Nessie, Meet Life! Life, Meet Nessie! Thankyou to everyone who stuck with me through the sporadic updates when I first started out, then through the move from one fanfic account to this one, and finally to the last chapter! Thanks to all the new readers, too. This fanfic was a tribute to my own brief period of Twilightomania, a stage which I think should officially be a developmental period for teenagers, and then became something else that hit much closer to home. I'm so glad that so many people have been able to enjoy (or perhaps not enjoy) what I've written, and I hope that I can continue to live up to (or up from, depending on what you thought of this fanfic) your expectations. **

**If you want to check out any of my other fanfictions, or my actual projects, have a look at my profile page. For updates on my writing/acting/everything, follow me on Twitter by searching for AngelaDonlan.**

**Thanks again!**

**- Angela**


End file.
